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Information Barriers to the Implementation of Economic Evaluations in Japan

PharmacoEconomics volume 20, pages 9–15 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

With increasing cost-containment pressures within healthcare systems worldwide, economic evaluations of medical technologies, particularly pharmaceuticals, are used to aid the allocation of expenditure and resources. Facing similar pressures, Japan will probably also introduce economic evaluation of health technology. However, the structure of the healthcare system in Japan does not lend itself naturally to the collection of the epidemiological and cost data required for economic evaluations in medicine. In addition, there are no formal methodological guidelines in place for these analyses. To overcome these information barriers in Japan, progress may be aided by the adoption of approaches used in other countries for data collection and guideline development.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-Ku, Yoshida, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Shuzo Nishimura

  2. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    George W. Torrance

  3. Innovus Research Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada

    George W. Torrance

  4. Health Utilities Inc., Dundas, Ontario, Canada

    George W. Torrance

  5. Department of Health Policy & Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoki Ikegami

  6. Department of Epidemiology & Health Care Research, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Shunichi Fukuhara

  7. Centre for Health Economics, University of York, Heslington, York, UK

    Michael Drummond

  8. Innovus Research UK, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK

    Michael Drummond

  9. Procrea Biosciences Inc., Royalmount, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    François Schubert

Authors
  1. Shuzo Nishimura
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  2. George W. Torrance
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  3. Naoki Ikegami
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  4. Shunichi Fukuhara
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  5. Michael Drummond
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  6. François Schubert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuzo Nishimura.

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Nishimura, S., Torrance, G.W., Ikegami, N. et al. Information Barriers to the Implementation of Economic Evaluations in Japan. Pharmacoeconomics 20, 9–15 (2002). https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-200220002-00002

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-200220002-00002

Keywords

  • Economic Evaluation
  • Japanese Government
  • Healthcare Intervention
  • Methodological Guideline
  • Canadian Experience