[Introduction to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pharmacoeconomics]

It is important for the clinician to be familiar with the different aspects of cost in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care: direct, indirect, and intangible. In pharmacoeconomics the most common used analysis is cost-effectiveness measurements, where costs are compared to specific outcomes in both diseases. As health care costs continue to rise in asthma and COPD as well, it should be stressed that asthma therapy has changed from inpatient to ambulatory care, while the treatment of COPD to a higher degree still is based on inpatient care.