AN OUTLINE FOR A COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF A DRUG FOR PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

This article provides an outline for a cost-effectiveness analysis of a drug that slows the consequences of Alzheimer's disease. Such an ana lysis cannot easily be performed for 2 main reasons. The first is that often relatives and friends, rather than professionals, take care of the patient. This means that informal care plays an important role in the analysis. However, consensus on how to value informal care is lack ing. In this article, we have recommended the shadow-price method beca use this is an option that can be practically applied. The second reas on is that the primary source of information on quality of life, the p atients themselves, is unreliable because of cognitive disturbances. T he solution is to ask 'significant others' to indicate quality of life instead of the patient. As well as measuring the patient's quality of life, the quality of life of the informal caregiver is also often mea sured. This is recommended here, but as a separate item in the analysi s. In this way, double-counting in the final cost-effectiveness ratio can be avoided. Several instruments for measuring a patient's and care giver's quality of life are discussed and recommendations about suitab le methods are made.