Pharmacoeconomics; an Appropriate Tool for Policy Makers or Just a New Field of Research in Iran?

Pharmacoeconomics is defined as the science of identifying and comparing costs and the consequences of drug therapy in health care programs. As a sub-discipline of health economics, pharmacoeconomics, is fairly a new research discipline in the world which has come about mainly in response to economic pressures on health systems. The root of this pressure lies in the mismatch of enhanced demand for health care and pharmaceutical services on one hand, and limitations on available resources on the other.