Seminar

Deven Chauhan, Economist and Jon Sussex of the OHE have been reviewing the role of medicines information in achieving the Government’s health and health care policy objectives in England. Deven and Jon presented the emerging findings from their review of UK Health Policy, a search through the published economic evaluation literature and interviews with stakeholders. Angela Coulter, Chief Executive of the Picker Institute Europe, acted as discussant, drawing in from her experience with patients the lessons to be learned from elsewhere about the use of information about medicines.

The research presented at this seminar was supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited. The Office of Health Economics, via its consultancy arm OHE Consulting, undertook research to look both at evidence and at the consistency of Government policy on the value and use of information for patients on areas outside of improved medicines information. The study reviewed evidence and policy about both the supply of information to improve awareness of the existence of cost-effective medicines to treat or prevent particular health problems; and information for patients about their medicines, to improve compliance, reduce side-effects and reduce adverse interactions with other medicines.