Abstract

As part of the global trend to address the constrained resources for population health care coverage, the concepts of pharmacoeconomics (PE) and health technology assessment (HTA) have been introduced to Asia in the last decade. Medicines are just one of numerous types of innovative technologies developed to address unmet medical need. Many of these medicines receive a great deal of attention because of their potential impact on limited health care budgets. There are a few key challenges for using PE and HTA in making informed decisions regarding the value of a given new health care technology in an Asian country. These challenges include 1) recognizing the multidimensional aspects of PE and HTA, which can include both health care and political considerations; 2) involving stakeholders (with a focus on patients) in decision making; 3) balancing short- and long-term overall benefits of innovative medicines; and 4) giving consideration to specific local cultural and health care characteristics.