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A study of prescription drugs' cost-effectiveness might seem like an arcane research subject, but in fact it lies at the heart of the current debate over the growing use (and rising cost) of prescription drugs. Advocates argue that drugs offer value for the money, substituting for more costly and invasive treatments and hospitalizations. This study offers a cogent framework in which to determine prescription drugs' value in making treatment decisions. It is based on cost-utility analysis, which measures benefit in terms of quality-adjusted life years gained by drug therapies. Although, as the authors note, the approach has some limitations, such a measure enables comparisons across diverse conditions and allows the measure of benefit to take into account the value different people place on their treatment options.

Peter Neumann is an assistant professor of policy and decision sciences in the …