Upon completion of the chapter, the reader will be able to:

1. Recite the classic definition of pharmacoeconomics and define pharmacoeconomic research.

2. List four primary perspectives that a pharmacoeconomic analysis can be conducted from, and describe how they differ.

3. Discern between different medical cost categories that can be identified, measured, and compared in a pharmacoeconomic analysis.

4. Categorize the outcomes (consequences) of medical care into three basic areas, popular to medical decision making.

5. Describe the components of a "full" economic evaluation.

6. Compare and contrast four economic evaluation methods commonly applied to pharmacy practice in today's healthcare settings.

7. Discuss how cost-benefit analysis can be used to quantify the value of clinical pharmacy services.

8. Define cost-effectiveness analysis and discuss the appropriate application of this method for drug therapy evaluations.

9. Construct an argument for a situation where an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio would be preferred over an average cost-effectiveness ratio.

10. List two primary applications of pharmacoeconomic principles and methods to "real world" pharmacy practice environments.

11. Compare and contrast common strategies for incorporating pharmacoeconomics into daily pharmacy practice.

12. List the advantages and disadvantages of using the literature as a pharmacoeconomic application strategy.

13. State and apply 11 basic criteria important for evaluating the quality of a published pharmacoeconomic or outcomes research study from a pharmacy perspective.

14. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using modeling to inform local decision making.

15. Describe and apply the basic components for conducting a rigorous and sound local pharmacoeconomic evaluation.

16. Describe three commonly used and accepted techniques to employ when building a pharmacoeconomics model