[Pharmacoeconomics in contemporary medicine]

Following international examples, economic evaluation of health care programmes is starting to play an increasing role in Poland. Applying the broadest view, an economic evaluation is defined as the comparative analysis of alternative courses of action in terms of their costs and consequences. This definition includes economic evaluation of prescribed drugs by the term pharmacoeconomics. Pharmacoeconomics can be defined by the study of economic implications of drug usage. From a practical point of view, pharmacoeconomics is a part of health economics, the aim of which is to optimize pharmacotherapy through rational drug management. The role of pharmacoeconomic research is to identify measure and compare the resources consumed and corresponding costs with consequences in the form of clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes of pharmaceutical products and services used. The results of these studies serve as scientific evidence for decision making. The Polish Chapter of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Research (ISPOR) is the main scientific organization operating in the field of pharmacoeconomics in Poland.