Analysis of the eligibility of published economic evaluations for transferto a given health care system - Methodological approach and application tothe French health care system

Context: Economic evaluations are costly and cannot always be carried out l ocally. Therefore, decision-makers may wish to use studies already performe d in other settings. Objective: To define a method for assessing the eligib ility of published economic evaluations for transfer to a given health care system and apply it to the french health care system in the clinical situa tion of adjuvant therapy for women with breast cancer. Methods: (1) Literat ure search in six databases from 1982 to 1996, (2) critical appraisal of ar ticles based on four inclusion criteria; and (3) assessment of the eligibil ity of the studies for transfer based on five indicators. Results: We ident ified 26 published economic evaluations concerning adjuvant therapy in wome n with breast cancer. Six (23%) met all four criteria used to select studie s, but none of these studies were eligible for transfer to the french healt h care system. The main reason was that cost data was not reported in a tra nsparent way. Conclusions: To improve the transferability of economic evalu ations, we recommend that requirements for data provision in publications b e standardized and international collaboration strengthened. (C) 1999 Elsev ier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.