Current State of Health-Related Cost-Effectiveness Analyses in Vietnam: A Literature Review

Tóm tắt

Introduction: Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is considered as one form of full health economic evaluation, which evaluates both costs and consequences. CEA provides important information for decision makers in choosing optimal options within a given budget. Little is known about CEA in the health sector in Vietnam. Objectives: To describe the current state of health-related CEA studies in Vietnam in terms of quantity and quality and to suggest future directions in this area. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed and Google Scholar databases in July 2014. All found health-related CEA studies in Vietnam were reviewed by two researchers using the Drummond’s checklist. Results: Totally, 18 CEA studies were included, of which 13 evaluated prevention interventions 2 curative procedures, 1 diagnostic procedures, and others (2 studies). Most of the studies used a societal or a healthcare perspective (12 out of 18 studies). 14 out of 18 selected studies showed that it is cost-effective when implementing particular interventions/programs/treatments. Conclusion: In Vietnam, number of health-related CEA studies in PubMed library are still limited and mainly focused on prevention such as vaccines and controlling risk factors. 14 out of 18 selected studies showed that it is cost-effective when implementing the interventions/programs/treatments. More resources should be allocated to this area of research in order to improve the efficiency of health-related policies and decisions.