The Future for Statistical Analysis of Net-benefit in Cost-effectiveness Analysis

• Activity Number: 109
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 9, 2004 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Health Policy Statistics
• Author(s): Andrew H. Briggs*+
• Companies: University of Oxford
• Keywords: cost-effectiveness ; net-benefit ; clinical trials ; decision models

Abstract

The use of the net-benefit framework has greatly aided the statistical analysis of cost-effectiveness studies. In particular, the increasing use of the clinical trial as a vehicle for economic analysis has generated many statistical issues that have been made easier through the use of the net-benefit framework. However, decision models are also used for economic analysis most commonly where the analyst does not have access to the primary data and the net-benefit framework has much to offer this type of analysis also. For most trial-based analyses, some form of modeling is inevitable in order to capture the full lifetime cost and effects of treatments under evaluation. In decision models, it is increasingly recognized that there must be a firm statistical basis for parameter estimation. I will speculate that future developments in this area will revolve around an increasing convergence between trial-based and decision modeling-based evaluations. To illustrate the potential, examples of such hybrid analyses will be presented and the extent to which the use of the net-benefit aids the implementation and presentation of such studies will be emphasized.