Estimating the cost effectiveness of alternative drug treatments for postmenopausal osteoporosis.

The burden of postmenopausal osteoporosis is substantial and is likely to grow as the baby-boom generation ages. A greater understanding of the costs and clinical benefits of alternative therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis is needed to develop informed health policies to reduce the future burden of osteoporosis. However, much of the data needed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of alternative therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis are not available from clinical trials. Thus, cost-effectiveness models must cope with a high degree of uncertainty. This article provides a brief summary of the methodologic issues in cost-effectiveness analyses of current osteoporosis therapies, a review of the findings in published cost-effectiveness studies, and a discussion of challenges likely to be encountered in future economic evaluations of emerging osteoporosis therapies.