K. Claxton, Bayesian approaches to the value of information: Implications for the regulation of new pharmaceutical, HEALTH ECON, 8(3), 1999, pp. 269-274
The current regulation of new pharmaceuticals is inefficient because it dem
ands arbitrary amounts of information, the type of information demanded is
not relevant to decision-makers and the same standards of evidence are appl
ied across different technologies. Bayesian decision theory and an analysis
of the value of both perfect and sample information is used to consider th
e efficient regulation of new pharmaceuticals. This type of analysis can be
used to decide whether the evidence in an economic study provides 'suffici
ent substantiation' for an economic claim, and assesses whether evidence ca
n be regarded as 'competent and reliable'. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley &
Sons, Ltd.