Published Jun 30, 2014

Austin, TX, USA & Beijing, China - Since the implementation of health care reforms in 2009, the Chinese government has taken steps to improve the accessibility and affordability of health care services in China. Unlike some developed countries, submission of cost-effectiveness analyses for new pharmaceuticals is not required in China.  Recognition of the importance of economic evaluations is growing, however, and the possible use of pharmacoeconomics for pricing new drugs was mentioned in the 2009 plan. A team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and Peking University conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the extent and quality of published pharmacoeconomics studies pertaining to China. This is an important first step toward the development of this discipline in China. The researchers found that the quality of published pharmacoeconomics studies in China was generally high, but the scope and number of studies were limited compared to developed countries. China is still at the early stage of integrating pharmacoeconomics into decision making. “To continue to increase the accessibility and affordability of health care services in a country with large unmet medical needs, more pharmacoeconomics studies should be encouraged and results should be integrated into the decision-making processes.” says Shan Jiang, MS, first author, and PhD student at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, USA. The full study, “A Systematic Review on the Extent and Quality of Pharmacoeconomic Publications for China,” is published in Value in Health Regional Issues, Volume 3.

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