Impact of sumatriptan on lost labour costs and QOL in migraine

Abstract

T here has been a drive towards providing care in the ambulatory setting in the US as a result of increasing healthcare costs. In this setting, conditions such as migraine headache can have significant effects on the clinical, economic and humanistic outcomes for patients. SC sumatriptan has been shown to improve all 3 types of outcomes in the management of migraine headache. Dr John Mackowiak, president for the Center for Outcomes Research in North Carolina, presented recent studies on the impact of sumatriptan use on lost labour costs and quality of life at a Glaxo Wellcome-sponsored symposium held during the annual meeting of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists [ Baltimore, US; June 1998 ]. These study findings reinforce the need for health insurers to reimburse this product for their enrollees.