Economic evaluation of the management of pain in osteoarthritis

Economic evaluation in osteoarthritis is still uncommon, despite the many studies performed in other disease settings. Policy makers are increasingly recognising that the unit purchase price of the drug is not as meaningful as cost-effectiveness analyses that take into account the frequency and magnitude of its benefits and adverse effects. Thus, there is an urgent need for agreement on the methods to be used to allow meaningful comparisons; critical first steps consist of inclusion of common end-point disease-specific and generic scales, and concurrent assessment of costs in future clinical trials. When applying the results from other countries, careful attention should be paid to taking into account differences in clinical practice, in the values and preferences of the patients, and in the costs of the drugs and resources used or saved as a consequence of the benefits and adverse effects.