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Review
. 2009 Dec;6(12):2950-66.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph6122950. Epub 2009 Nov 27.

Health economic assessment: a methodological primer

Steven Simoens  1
Affiliations
Review

Health economic assessment: a methodological primer

Steven Simoens. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

This review article aims to provide an introduction to the methodology of health economic assessment of a health technology. Attention is paid to defining the fundamental concepts and terms that are relevant to health economic assessments. The article describes the methodology underlying a cost study (identification, measurement and valuation of resource use, calculation of costs), an economic evaluation (type of economic evaluation, the cost-effectiveness plane, trial- and model-based economic evaluation, discounting, sensitivity analysis, incremental analysis), and a budget impact analysis. Key references are provided for those readers who wish a more advanced understanding of health economic assessments.

Keywords: budget impact analysis; cost study; economic evaluation; health economics; health technology.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Components of an economic evaluation.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The cost-effectiveness plane.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Cost-effectiveness acceptability curve.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Trend in cost-utility analyses of health technologies, 1976–2007.
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