PHARMACOECONOMIC EVALUATION OF HEALTHCARE INTERVENTIONS: METHODS, OUTCOMES, AND IMPACT ON DRUG POLICY

Abstract

Healthcare systems worldwide are increasingly challenged by escalating expenditures, demographic transitions, technological advancements, and the growing burden of chronic diseases. Limited healthcare resources necessitate efficient allocation strategies to maximize health outcomes while ensuring sustainability and equitable access to care. Pharmacoeconomics, a specialized field within health economics, provides a systematic framework for comparing the costs and outcomes of pharmaceutical products and healthcare interventions to support evidence-based decision-making. This narrative review examines the principles, methodologies, outcomes, and policy implications of pharmacoeconomic evaluations in contemporary healthcare settings. Major analytical approaches, including cost-minimization analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and budget impact analysis, are discussed in terms of their methodological foundations, applications, strengths, and limitations. Key outcome measures such as quality-adjusted life years, disability-adjusted life years, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, and willingness-to-pay thresholds are also explored. The review highlights the growing role of pharmacoeconomic evidence in health technology assessment, formulary management, value-based pricing, reimbursement decisions, and national drug policy development. Emerging trends, including the incorporation of real-world evidence, digital health technologies, precision medicine, and artificial intelligence, are transforming the scope and relevance of pharmacoeconomic research. Despite significant advances, challenges related to data quality, transferability, methodological heterogeneity, uncertainty, and ethical concerns remain. Strengthening methodological rigor, improving transparency, integrating patient perspectives, and promoting international harmonization of evaluation frameworks are essential for enhancing the utility of pharmacoeconomic evidence. Robust pharmacoeconomic evaluations are indispensable for optimizing healthcare resource allocation and informing sustainable, patient-centered drug policies.

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