Use of pharmacoeconomics in prescribing research. Part 4: is cost-utility analysis a useful tool?

This paper is the fourth in the 'Research Note' series describing various aspects of pharmacoeconomics in prescribing research. This article describes cost-utility analysis, and how it can be incorporated into pharmacoeconomics. While this approach has intuitive appeal, the uncertainties about the methods for estimating utilities mean that the value of cost-utility analysis in prescribing research is still to be established. Importantly, cost-utility analysis may not capture aspects of quality of life that enable meaningful comparisons between prescribing choices at an individual or societal level.