The Second Edition of this groundbreaking work refines the art and science of quality of life assessment and pharmacoeconomics and redefines the role of these evaluation parameters in clinical trials and health care decision-making. Dr. Spilker has assembled more than 200 experts from diverse clinical, research, and social science disciplines to provide a comprehensive reference on the methodology, interpretation, and use of quality of life and pharmacoeconomic studies. Expanded to four times its predecessor's size and scope, the Second Edition features: all-new sections on pharmacoeconomics and crucial health policy issues such as outcomes research a new, extensive section on cross-cultural and cross-national issues in quality of life assessment detailed information on specific tests and measures of quality of life comprehensive guidelines on choosing and administering tests and analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data many chapters on new topics such as phenomenology, assessment of spiritual status, and alternative/complementary medical treatments.

Based on Dr. Spilker's classic Quality of Life and Pharmacoeconomics in Clinical Trials, 2nd Edition, this streamlined sourcebook offers an easy-to-understand introduction to an increasingly critical aspect of health care. Seven succinct sections review key aspects of health-related quality of life and the essentials of pharmacoeconomics, providing expert answers to your most pressing questions: What generic HRQOL and disease-specific assessments are available? How are these scales chosen, used, and interpreted? What instruments do I need...and where can I find them? What is the relationship between pharmacoeconomics and quality of life? Between outcomes research and quality of life? Well-organized and easy to use, Quality of Life and Pharmacoeconomics: An Introduction will become a standard textbook for professionals and students in all areas of medical research and practice.

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are measures of how patients feel or what they are able to do in the context of their health status; PROs are reports, usually on questionnaires, about a patient's health conditions, health behaviors, or experiences with health care that individuals report directly, without modification of responses by clinicians or others; thus, they directly reflect the voice of the patient. PROs cover domains such as physical health, mental and emotional health, functioning, symptoms and symptom burden, and health behaviors. They are relevant for many activities: helping patients and their clinicians make informed decisions about health care, monitoring the progress of care, setting policies for coverage and reimbursement of health services, improving the quality of health care services, and tracking or reporting on the performance of health care delivery organizations. We address the major methodological issues related to choosing, administering, and using PROs for these purposes, particularly in clinical practice settings. We include a framework for best practices in selecting PROs, focusing on choosing appropriate methods and modes for administering PRO measures to accommodate patients with diverse linguistic, cultural, educational, and functional skills, understanding measures developed through both classic and modern test theory, and addressing complex issues relating to scoring and analyzing PRO data.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute established the Cancer Outcomes Measurement Working Group in 2001 to evaluate measurements of the important and diverse impacts of cancer on individuals and populations. The findings and recommendations of the working group's 35 internationally recognized members provide alternative approaches for comprehensively measuring the burden of cancer and the effectiveness of preventive and therapeutic interventions.

This book provides a reference guide describing the current status of medication in all major psychiatric and neurological indications, together with comparisons of pharmacological treatment strategies in clinical settings in Europe, USA, Japan and China. In addition, it highlights herbal medicine as used in China and Japan, as well as complementary medicine and nutritional aspects. This novel approach offers international readers a global approach in a single dedicated publication and is also a valuable resource for anyone interested in comparing treatments for psychiatric disorders in three different cultural areas. There are three volumes devoted to Basic Principles and General Aspects, offering a general overview of psychopharmacotherapy (Vol. 1); Classes, Drugs and Special Aspects covering the role of psychotropic drugs in the field of psychiatry and neurology (Vol. 2) and Applied Psychopharmacotherapy focusing on applied psychopharmacotherapy (Vol. 3). These books are invaluable to psychiatrists, neurologists, neuroscientists, medical practitioners and clinical psychologists.

"This new text is designed for a student or practitioner who is unfamiliar with "pharmacoeconomics." It provides a straightforward explanation of the essential pharmacoeconomics topics outlined by The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). It defines terminology used in research and covers the application of economic-based evaluation methods for pharmaceutical products and services. Users will find examples of how pharmacoeconomic evaluations relate to decisions that affect patient care and health-related quality of life"--Provided by publisher.