Via practica 12/2008

IMPORTANCE OF PHARMACOECONOMICS IN DECISION-MAKING OF PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS

Pressure of costs for healthcare is visible also in primary care physicians. They make decision about significant percentage of resources available for health care. Often, doctors are not willing to abandon familiar therapeutic and screening interventions even if these interventions are more expensive and they are reluctant to use unfamiliar interventions even when they learn that they are less expensive, but with different clinical results. Pharmacoeconomics’ results implementation in daily practice should be part of continual education because it is one of the conditions necessary for economic improvement of national healthcare system.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness, screening, cancer, costs