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This article presents the first version of the reporting format for economic valuation that was created in 1995 by a multidisciplinary taskforce. The members of this taskforce come from a broad spectrum of backgrounds within the healthcare field and participated in the exercise voluntarily. The format presented should be understood as the preferred Dutch structure for the reporting of any study on economic evaluation. In view of the many areas of contention that exist within the field, this format only gives normative directions in those areas in which consensus exists, as evidenced by the current published international guidelines. A regular review and adaptation of this format will be needed to reflect advances in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic analysis has become increasingly important in healthcare in general, and particularly with respect to pharmaceuticals. Therefore, it is vital that the methods used in such evaluations are carefully scrutinised and refined. However, guidelines contain only a limited number of recommendations for the use of secondary data in modelling studies. In this manuscript, the selection of data sources in modelling studies will be addressed. The objectives of this manuscript are as follows: (i) to present a general strategy on how to determine the appropriateness of a data source for a model; and (ii) to present recommendations on a transparent reporting format for the selection of data sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing use of economic evaluation to support decision-makers in health services for allocation of scarce healthcare resources. However, information necessary for economic evaluations cannot always be derived from well-conducted prospective clinical studies, and decision-analytical models can be used to provide some of the missing information. A number of applications of decision-analytical models are discussed, including submissions to authorities for reimbursement purposes, pharmacoeconomic programme development, portfolio investment decisions, marketing and communication strategies, and applications in disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]