Difference in healthcare resource utilization and health-related quality of life between patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in a public hospital in Malaysia - a retrospective case-note review and cross-sectional survey.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a growing global health concern, with its economic impact projected to reach USD 6.0 trillion by 2030. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD), characterized by non-responsiveness to initial treatments, adds a significant cost burden.

Trajectory of health-related quality of life during and after hospitalisation due to worsening of heart failure.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the trajectory in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during and after hospitalisation for worsening of heart failure (HF) in Malaysia.

Methods: 200 patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) admitted into two hospitals in Malaysia due to worsening of HF were surveyed using the EQ-5D-5 L questionnaire. The primary outcomes were utility values at admission, discharge and 1-month post-discharge (1MPD).

Validity and measurement equivalence of EQ-5D-5L questionnaire among heart failure patients in Malaysia: a cohort study.

Aim: This study aimed to examine the validity of EQ-5D-5L among HFrEF patients in Malaysia, and to explore the measurement equivalence of three main language versions.

Methods: We surveyed HFrEF patients from two hospitals in Malaysia, using Malay, English or Chinese versions of EQ-5D-5L. EQ-5D-5L dimensional scores were converted to utility scores using the Malaysian value set.

Economic Evaluations of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapies for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Decision-analytic models (DAMs) with varying structures and assumptions have been applied in economic evaluations (EEs) to assist decision making for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) therapeutics. This systematic review aimed to summarize and critically appraise the EEs of guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMTs) for HFrEF.

Methods: A systematic search of English articles and gray literature, published from January 2010, was performed on databases including MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, NHSEED, health technology assessment, Cochrane Library, etc.

Stakeholders' Views on Patient Access Schemes in Malaysia.

Objectives: The healthcare system aspires to ensure improved access to treatment while working within the existing financial constraints and increasing demands. Patient access schemes (PASs) are initiated to improve access. This study seeks the stakeholders' views on the PAS in the public healthcare sector in Malaysia.

Stakeholder views of managed entry agreements: A literature review of national studies.

Access to highly expensive and innovative medicine is a challenge. Managed entry agreements/ arrangements (MEAs) consist of various forms of confidential agreements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and payers (hospitals, social insurance), which are mainly negotiated when there is uncertainty of the actual clinical benefit of the medicines, but high public expenditures are required. Continued and expanding use of these schemes requires a greater understanding of payer perceptions, experience, and orientation towards their current and future use.

Using telemedicine to support care for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative analysis of patients' perspectives.

Objective: Telemedicine has been promoted as an economical and effective way to enhance patient care, but its acceptance among patients in low-income and middle-income countries is poorly understood. This study is aimed to explore the experiences and perspectives of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus that used telemedicine to manage their condition.

Design: In-depth and focus group interviews were conducted with participants who have engaged in telemedicine.

Telemonitoring and Team-Based Management of Glycemic Control on People with Type 2 Diabetes: a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Connected devices that allow people with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels remotely with data visualization have been shown to improve self-care behavior in diabetes management. However, their effectiveness and usability for a low-middle-income, racially diverse population are unknown.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of remote telemonitoring with team-based management on people with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.

Real-world evidence of improved healthcare utilization in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder after early treatment of paliperidone palmitate once-monthly treatment in Hong Kong.

Background: Very few data are available to demonstrate the economic benefit of early paliperidone palmitate once-monthly long-acting injectable (PP1M) treatment in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Methods And Materials: This study has retrospectively compared the healthcare utilization and associated costs of pre- and post-PPIM treatment in 413 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder recruited from three major public hospitals providing psychiatric services in Hong Kong. Patients were categorized into early treatment (≤3 years since diagnosis) and chronic (>3 years) groups, and also whether they were receiving polypharmacy (POP).

Economic Evaluation of Combination Therapy Versus Monotherapy for Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Hong Kong.

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting men. Studies have shown that the prevalence of LUTS/BPH increases with age, which will cause considerable economic burden to the healthcare system and society. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long term cost effectiveness of dutasteride and tamsulosin therapy compared to tamsulosin alone in men with BPH in Hong Kong.

Dental Home Visits for Caries Prevention Among Preschool Children: Protocol for a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis on a Randomized Control Trial.

Background: In 2012, nearly 4000 children in Malaysia were referred to hospital pediatric dental services due to dental caries. Recent research has reported the effectiveness of dental home visits in preventing caries development in young children. Dental home visits (DHVs) are described as an ongoing relationship between the dentist and their patients, providing all aspects of a preventive oral health care program in the presence of the parents at home.

Cost-utility analysis of antiviral use under pandemic influenza using a novel approach - linking pharmacology, epidemiology and heath economics.

Simulation models are used widely in pharmacology, epidemiology and health economics (HEs). However, there have been no attempts to incorporate models from these disciplines into a single integrated model. Accordingly, we explored this linkage to evaluate the epidemiological and economic impact of oseltamivir dose optimisation in supporting pandemic influenza planning in the USA.

Interdisciplinary pharmacometrics linking oseltamivir pharmacology, influenza epidemiology and health economics to inform antiviral use in pandemics.

Aims: A modular interdisciplinary platform was developed to investigate the economic impact of oseltamivir treatment by dosage regimen under simulated influenza pandemic scenarios.

Methods: The pharmacology module consisted of a pharmacokinetic distribution of oseltamivir carboxylate daily area under the concentration-time curve at steady state (simulated for 75 mg and 150 mg twice daily regimens for 5 days) and a pharmacodynamic distribution of viral shedding duration obtained from phase II influenza inoculation data. The epidemiological module comprised a susceptible, exposed, infected, recovered (SEIR) model to which drug effect on the basic reproductive number (R ), a measure of transmissibility, was linked by reduction of viral shedding duration.

Intervention for Diabetes with Education, Advancement and Support (IDEAS) study: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: The high market penetration of mobile phones has triggered an opportunity to combine mobile technology with health care to overcome challenges in today's health care setting. Although Malaysia has a high Internet and mobile penetration rate, evaluations of the efficacy of incorporating this technology in diabetes care is not common. We report the development of a telemonitoring coaching system, using the United Kingdom (UK) Medical Research Council (MRC) framework, for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of infant universal routine pneumococcal vaccination in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Pneumococcal disease causes large morbidity, mortality and health care utilization and medical and non-medical costs, which can all be reduced by effective infant universal routine immunization programs with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV). We evaluated the clinical and economic benefits of such programs with either 10- or 13-valent PCVs in Malaysia and Hong Kong by using an age-stratified Markov cohort model with many country-specific inputs. The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) was calculated to compare PCV10 or PCV13 against no vaccination and PCV13 against PCV10 over a 10-year birth cohort's vaccination.