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Pharmacoeconomics of Systemic and Biologic Therapy in Dermatology

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Biologic and Systemic Agents in Dermatology

Abstract

With rising costs of healthcare, economic cost analyses will continue to become important in the evaluation of pharmaceutical products and systemic therapies in dermatology. Understanding the basic principles of pharmacoeconomics and how they apply to dermatology is important for all dermatologists and medical trainees. In this chapter, we review the key concepts of pharmacoeconomics and give examples of these as they pertain to systemic therapy in psoriasis. Costs, including direct costs, indirect costs, opportunity costs, and intangible costs, are reviewed as are types of cost analyses and measurements of humanistic outcomes or clinical efficacy, such as utility scores, patient-reported outcomes, and number needed to treat. Finally, we present an example of a cost analysis for biologic agents in the treatment of psoriasis to emphasize the importance of pharmacoeconomic considerations in daily clinical practice for dermatologists.

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Correspondence to Alexa B. Kimball MD, MPH .

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Porter, M.L., Kimball, A.B. (2018). Pharmacoeconomics of Systemic and Biologic Therapy in Dermatology. In: Yamauchi, P. (eds) Biologic and Systemic Agents in Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66884-0_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66884-0_10

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