Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health: A Practical Approach by Peter Muennig

Product Details

Synopsis

This second edition of Cost Effectiveness Analysis in Health reviews issues and methods of assessing health care technologies and related programs. It emphasizes methods to perform economic evaluations, such as cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis; methods to assess efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of health care technologies; effectiveness research; and applications to clinical and public policy. The book provides in-depth discussion of the uses and conducting of cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) as decision-making aids in public health, health services, and medicine. It explores cost-effectiveness in the context of societal decision making for resource allocation purposes. Chapter topics include: Defining and explaining cost-effectiveness, principles of cost-effectiveness analysis, how to develop a research project, working with costs, probabilities and models, calculating life expectancy, working with health-related quality of life measures, calculating quality-adjusted life years, conducting a sensitivity analysis, preparing your study for publication, working with data, and finding the data you need.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Surrey Walton, PhD (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy)
Description:This is an easy to read introduction to why cost effectiveness studies are done, what type of studies are done, what steps are generally involved, and how the pertinent results are typically generated. In doing so, it introduces a variety of concepts surrounding the definition and measurement of costs and health outcomes, and more generally where the underlying information comes from and how it is used. It also includes useful exercises that reinforce the concepts in the text. The first edition was published in 2002.
Purpose:Cost effectiveness research is currently growing at a substantial rate by any measure. The purpose of this book is to provide a practical introduction to cost effectiveness research for those considering entering into the field, or for those wanting to better understand existing studies.
Audience:This book is well suited for graduate students or professionals working in a healthcare related field. The book would also be useful to professors who are teaching an introductory course, particularly at the master's level. The author has substantial experience in designing, conducting, and publishing cost effectiveness research and has won numerous teaching awards.
Features:The book provides an easy to read and comprehensive (in terms of breadth) introduction to cost effectiveness analysis. Motivation for the topic, how to frame a particular research question, various techniques for how to measure costs and how to measure health outcomes (e.g. life expectancy and quality of life years) , fundamentals ofdecision modeling and sensitivity analysis, what kinds of data sources are available and how to judge the quality of data, as well as basics of biostatistics and epidemiology are all included. There is a useful set of exercises in each chapter with answers to selected ones. If the book has a shortcoming, it is that it is only an introduction to a variety of methods used in doing research in the area.
Assessment:This very engaging introduction to cost effectiveness analysis provides a good deal of practical insight into how this type of research is actually conducted.

Biography

Peter Muennig is an assistant professor at Columbia University. Previously, he directed the Program in Cost-Effectiveness and Outcomes at New School University, consulted for Health Canada and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and was an assistant professor at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education.