Types and principles of conducting economic evaluation studies in health sector

In recent decades, due to the increasing health expenditures and resource constraints, the economic evaluation studies results have been increasingly used to prioritize health interventions and resource allocation in most countries, especially in high-income countries. Economic evaluation studies allow health system policymakers and decision makers, including physicians, to select the most appropriate intervention scientifically and systematically by comparing the costs and consequences of different treatment interventions. In Iran, The results of economic evaluation studies are used to decide on the arrival of new drugs in the country as well as insurance coverage for medical interventions since a decade ago. However, many researchers and clinical professionals still do not have enough information about the types of economic evaluation studies and the principles of conducting these studies. In this article, while defining economic evaluation studies, the difference between these studies and other studies in health sector is stated. Then the main types of economic evaluation studies including cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit are described and the differences between these methods are expressed. Finally, the general principles of conducting economic evaluation studies in the health sector are explained.
 Understanding these principles and their implementation by researchers, while improving the quality of economic evaluation studies, provides the opportunity for policy makers and decision makers in health system to compare the results of these studies with each other and their findings to make decisions about the allocation of resources between different health interventions