Health economics in HIV disease. A review of the European literature.

The costs of providing healthcare resources for patients with HIV disease have continued to rise during the last 2 decades since the first outbreak of AIDS. Although new and effective therapies have become available during this time, and are increasingly being used, outcome measures for, and the economic consequences of, differing models of care are poorly documented or understood. Most available economic and clinical data, especially data documenting post-therapy outcomes, are from small, short term studies. This has led to the use of modelling to estimate which determinants can improve the quality and cost effectiveness of HIV care in the future. Although the attempt to provide what is currently perceived to be the standard of care is stretching many healthcare budgets, it is an anachronism that there are few studies of health economics in HIV disease. Most published data relate only to North America, and there remains a paucity of European studies. This paper provides a review of the available data from Europe and attempts to highlight the trends that have taken place to date.