Priority setting decisions in health policy are unavoidable. Priority setting has inevitable consequences in terms of foregone health benefits. Decisions can be optimized by ensuring that decision makers have clarity about both the costs and benefits of different options. The use of economic evaluation methods can provide a systematic approach to r

Merck, the second-biggest U.S. drugmaker, on Wednesday said outside monitors recommended that its late-stage study of odanacatib, a new type of treatment, be stopped early because data has already shown it reduces fractures. Shares of Merck rose 4.2 percent on Thursday, on boosted hopes for the medi

The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine could fuel a political furor over new plans for a nationwide expansion of Medicaid that erupted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold President Barack Obama’s healthcare law in late June.In an unexpected move, the high court rul

About the study Objective: This study aimed to quantify heterogeneity in the value for money of precision medicine (PM) by application types across contexts and conditions and to quantify sources of heterogeneity to areas of particular promises or concerns as the field of PM moves forward. Methods

(Reuters Health) – When people with chronic health conditions have lower out-of-pocket costs for medications, they are more likely to actually fill their prescriptions, according to a new research review.The findings, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, sound logical. But they lend some har

CHICAGO — Taking periodic breaks from a commonly used treatment for prostate cancer could shorten men’s lives, researchers reported here on SaturdayIn a large study, intermittent hormonal therapy proved to be less effective than continuous therapy for certain men with metastatic prostate cancer.The

    Concern over drug-resistant strains of TB is growing, with similar ‘incurable’ TB emerging in Italy and Iran. Doctors in Mumbai said 12 patients had a “totally drug resistant” form of the infection, and three have died.The Indian Health Ministry is investigating the cases and has sent a team of