Jönsson Bengt
Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Eur J Health Econ. 2008 Jan;8 Suppl 2:S35-8. doi: 10.1007/s10198-007-0086-x.
This paper is an introduction to the study "The Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Patient Access to Treatment". The objective of the study is to compare patient access to new drugs in Europe, North America and a selection of other countries, and to analyse the determinants of differences between countries, as basis for a discussion on how patients' access to new and effective treatments can be improved. There were few treatments available that could affect the progression of the disease prior to the introduction of the first TNF inhibitors in the late 1990s. Since the cost per patient treated with these biological drugs is high compared to previously available treatments, reimbursement through private and public insurance is an important determinant for access to treatment.
本文是对“类风湿性关节炎负担与患者治疗可及性”研究的介绍。该研究的目的是比较欧洲、北美及其他一些国家患者获取新药的情况，并分析各国之间差异的决定因素，以此作为讨论如何改善患者获取新的有效治疗方法的基础。在20世纪90年代末第一种肿瘤坏死因子抑制剂问世之前，几乎没有能影响疾病进展的治疗方法。由于与此前可用的治疗方法相比，这些生物药物的人均治疗成本较高，通过私人和公共保险进行报销是获得治疗的一个重要决定因素。
