Pharmacoeconomic issues in the treatment of depression

The advent of newer, more expensive antidepressant agents in the past decade has focused renewed attention on major depressive disorder. The higher costs associated with purchasing the drugs makes their use appear to increase the cost of treating depression. Pharmacoeconomic methods are means of measuring the related advantages and costs, and provide guidance in drug selection. When such measures have been applied, the initial impression of increased costs for treating depressed persons with these agents is not supported. Pharmacoeconomic studies show that the newer antidepressants have clinically significant advantages that translate into lower total health system costs for treating major depressive disorder.