Pharmaco-epidemiology and -economics should be developed more extensively in veterinary medicine

Pharmaco-epidemiology, which has emerged within the last 20 years as a new discipline in human medicine, deals with the quantities of drugs consumed and their effects on populations in terms of epidemiological concepts and tools. To a lesser extent, it is also practised in veterinary medicine. The applications presented in this review are illustrative of pharmaco-epidemiological and -economical concepts. Assessment of drug consumption, the study of adverse drug effects, and the economic implications of drug use are the three main fields considered. Developments can be expected in veterinary medicine within the next few years relative to novel areas of interest such as antimicrobial resistance and new therapeutic class uses. These applications will require methodological progress and the elimination of current gaps. Pharmaco-epidemiological methods need to be developed, which implies close co-operation between statisticians, pharmacologists, veterinary practitioners and epidemiologists. A greater use of the term 'pharmaco-epidemiology' as a keyword in literature would facilitate recognition of this domain which associates closely epidemiology and pharmacology.