The Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee (DQTC) advises the Ontario Minister of Health about public funding of pharmaceutical products in Ontario, after considering information on effectiveness, safety and cost. Because the DQTC has always considered cost, in addition to effectiveness when reviewing the need to list products, the request for information on cost-effectiveness outlined in this document does not reflect new criteria or regulations. Rather, this document offers guidance to those manufacturers who will be making submissions, on how to address economic issues beyond simply listing the unit price of the pharmaceutical product (e.g., price per day or price per course of therapy) and comparing it with similar prices for alternative products or therapies. As such, these guidelines suggest an approach that manufacturers of pharmaceuticals can use to satisfy the information needs of the DQTC.

Prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
August 1994

• Components of an Economic Analysis
• Requirement for Cost-Effective Analysis and Suggested Format of a Report to Drug Programs Branch
• Comments on the Guidelines
• Quality of the Evidence


1. Establishing effectiveness


2. Estimating utility


3. Measuring costs


• Choice of the Alternative Product for Comparison
• Time Horizon and Modelling Issues
• Measuring Clinical Effectiveness (Outcomes)
1. Non-monetary outcome measures


2. Monetary outcome measures


3. Discrete clinical outcome measures ("Natural Units")


4. Summary and suggested format
• Generalizability to Various Subgroups
• Interpretation of Cost-Effectiveness Ratios
• Aggregate Economic Impact Analysis
• Avoiding Potential for Bias in Cost-Effectiveness Research
• Discussion and Purpose
• References
• Worksheet for Preparation of Pharmacoeconomic Analyses

Cat. No. 2227446 / ISBN #0-7778-3126-0

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