The Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy Program has a supervising faculty of six professors, as well as many affiliated professors who bring their talents and expertise to Titus Family Department endeavors. Faculty and students evaluate health products and services in a number of industry settings (including physician groups, hospitals and nursing homes), as well as many financing arrangements (including managed care, fee for service, Medicare and Medicaid). The Titus Family Department focuses on the following research areas:

Retrospective Database Analyses
Measuring the effectiveness of medical interventions requires that patient outcomes be investigated in real world settings. This task is often undertaken using data derived from pre-existing data bases, such as administrative data systems. Faculty have completed studies in a number of key disease states including: depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, as well as analyses of the impact of pharmaceutical care services on patient outcomes. Each of these analyses involved:

• Data acquisition
• Model and variable specification
• Statistical analysis including selection adjustment
• Graphical display of outcomes

Titus Family Department faculty have conducted retrospective analyses in a variety of settings, including Medical/Medicaid, managed care organizations, hospital systems and physician clinics.

Pharmacoeconomic Methods
The cost-effectiveness of treatment regimens involves the measurement of non-monetary patient outcomes, such as year of life gained. Moreover, state-of-the-art cost-effectiveness research assesses community preferences related to outcomes, such as the utility gained from increased physical functioning or reduction in pain. Research into methodologies for measuring quality of life is a major focus in the field today, and faculty members are actively contributing to the growing literature in this field. For example, faculty have developed methods that translate health status instruments like the SF-36 into utility measures. Faculty have researched quality of life and utility assessments in ophthalmology, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, HIV and migraine. Cross-cultural assessments are a particular interest to the Department's pharmaceutical economics and policy faculty.

Decision-Analytic Models of Cost-Effectiveness
Decision-analytic models are frequently used to simulate costs and outcomes associated with interventions. These analyses can use existing literature, or retrospective studies and meta-analyses to determine whether a particular treatment is cost-effective compared to existing treatments. These studies can also be used to determine whether additional studies are necessary to improve the quality of available information. Department faculty have conducted research in decision analytic models in a number of areas, including the societal implications of transitioning non-sedating antihistamines from prescription to over-the-counter status, hemophilia and glaucoma.