Farmacoeconomia: evaluación cientifica o estrategia comercial? / Pharmacoeconomics: Scientific assessment or commercial strategy?

RESUMO

The new global context, the dramatic rise in the cost of many health technologies, and the mounting pressures that constrain health sector budgets in most countries have created the need to evaluate health interventions, including pharmaceuticals, from an economic perspective. Pharmacoeconomics is "the application of economic theory to pharmacotherapeutics" and is often linked to commercial marketing. We propose standardizing the various methods of economic analysis so as to allow for comparisons and assessment of correct relationships. The author concludes pharmacoeconomics is simply an analytical fool that can be applied for scientific assessment or commercial promotion, depending on the objectives and purpose for which the use of this new discipline is intended