Survivor Costs in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Authors: Yoav Golan, John B. Wong, Stephen G. Pauker
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Letters4 April 2006Survivor Costs in Cost-Effectiveness AnalysisYoav Golan, MD, John B. Wong, MD, and Stephen G. Pauker, MDYoav Golan, MDFrom Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111.Search for more papers by this author, John B. Wong, MDFrom Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111.Search for more papers by this author, and Stephen G. Pauker, MDFrom Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-144-7-200604040-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Dr. Gandjour raises an interesting point: The exclusion of survivor costs (costs associated with a treatment because it extends the patient's life) could affect the calculated cost-effectiveness ratio. He suggests that we calculated unduly favorable cost-effectiveness ratios because we excluded such costs.The purpose of cost-effectiveness analysis is to provide a metric of comparison of potential uses of limited resources (the “medical commons” [1]). There is no gold standard for the threshold of willingness to pay. To be useful, such analyses must use standard methods, as we have done (2).In response to Dr. Gandjour's suggestion, we searched ...References1. Hiatt HH. Protecting the medical commons: who is responsible? N Engl J Med. 1975;293:235-41. [PMID: 1143304] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Gold MR, Siegel JE, Russell LB, Weinstein MC, eds. Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine. New York: Oxford Univ Pr; 1996. Google Scholar3. Nyman JA. Should the consumption of survivors be included as a cost in cost–utility analysis? Health Econ. 2004;13:417-27. [PMID: 15127422] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Yoav Golan, MD; John B. Wong, MD; Stephen G. Pauker, MDAffiliations: From Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111.Disclosures: Honoraria: Y. Golan (Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth, Merck & Co. Inc.); J.B. Wong (Schering-Plough, National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality); Grants received: J.B. Wong (National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Schering-Plough). PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoEmpirical Anti-Candida Therapy among Selected Patients in the Intensive Care Unit: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Yoav Golan , Michael P. Wolf , Stephen G. Pauker , John B. Wong , and Susan Hadley Survivor Costs in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Afschin Gandjour Metrics 4 April 2006Volume 144, Issue 7Page: 535KeywordsDrug abuseForecastingHealth care qualityHealth services researchIntensive care unitsLibrariesLife expectancyPatientsResearch quality assessmentSurvival analysis ePublished: 4 April 2006 Issue Published: 4 April 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...