CAN HEALTH ECONOMICS IN ANTIDEPRESSANTS T REATMENT BY EVALUATED

Consumption of antidepressants is increasing markedly, due in particul ar to the growing use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, whic h are considerably more expensive than tricyclic antidepressants. Usin g the classic traditional clinical decision model and the traditional economic decision model, a number of criteria are put forward which co uld improve precision in evaluations of societal economics. The method ology used in many health economic investigations within the medical s pecializations, including psychiatry, is not entirely satisfactory. Th erefore these investigations currently have little influence on the ch oice of antidepressive treatment. Several cost-of-illness analyses of depressive diseases have been published, great disparity being reporte d both for the disease and the population. However, there is consisten cy with regard to share of indirect costs, which would amount to 3-4 b illion DKK a year, 75% of which is attributable to lost productivity.