Addressing the challenge for well informed and consistent reimbursement decisions: The case for reference models

Editorial
In the context of ever-increasing healthcare expenditures and resource-limited health services, the comparative analysis of costs and benefits of competing healthcare technologies (e.g. pharmaceuticals) is essential to support public funding decisions. Australia has been at the forefront of the integration of economic evidence with reimbursement decisions to fund new pharmaceutical products through a national-level body, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). Pharmaceutical companies submit applications to have their products considered for reimbursement. The PBAC recommendations form the basis of Australian Government decisions about public funding and listing of medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), amongst others, has adopted guidelines to use economic evidence for reimbursement decision processes.