Pharmacy benefit management: enhancing the applicability of pharmacoeconomics for optimal decision making.

Previous research indicates that in order to make pharmacoeconomic information applicable and useful for pharmaceutical benefit management (PBM) companies, several aspects need to be considered and improved. These include: timely availability of information, head-to-head comparators, peer-reviewed publications, independent sponsorship of pharmacoeconomic studies, use of relevant populations in research and published pharmacoeconomic models, and pharmacoeconomics training for pharmaceutical companies' sales personnel. In addition to these measures, guidelines have been playing an important role in improving the applicability of pharmacoeconomic information. This paper examines the progress to date in enhancing the applicability of pharmacoeconomics for optimal PBM decision making. The greatest improvements have been made in enhancing the quality of pharmacoeconomic research and the quality of peer-reviewed publications. Direct comparator studies are starting to emerge, but in limited numbers. The need for additional training of pharmaceutical representatives and PBM staff members remains a critical issue.