Below please find a selective list of recent publications:

Preview:

M. Schlander:
Reference Case.
In: Michael Kattan, Mark E. Cowen (eds.):
Encyclopedia of Medical Decision-Making.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009 (in press).

M. Schlander, M. Beck:
Expensive Drugs for Rare Disorders: To Treat or Not to Treat? The Case of Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Mucopolysaccharidosis VI.
Current Medical Research and Opinion (CMRO), 2009 (in press).

 

Recent Publications:

M. Schlander:
Health Technology Assessments
by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence:
A Qualitative Study.

New York, NY: Springer, 2007.
(Monograph, 245 pages).

"In recent years there has been a proliferation of health technology assessment (HTA) initiatives internationally. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England and Wales stands prominently among these initiatives. The current study reviews the NICE appraisal process, confirms the transparent, inclusive and participatory nature of the appraisal, but identifies a number of inconsistencies in the assessment itself and problems in the way the evidence was presented. Having identified these shortcomings, the study at hand offers significant lessons for policy makers, not only in England and Wales, but in other settings as well."
Panos Kanavos, London School of Economics.

"While the focus of this monograph is the NICE ADHD analysis and appraisal process, the careful step-by-step critique might be used as a guide for future appraisal processes, not just for NICE, but for all health care policy analysts as well."
Peter Jensen, Columbia University, New York, NY.

"This is a remarkable piece of work which is indicative of a scholar who is totally on top of his subject area and capable of expressing his ideas in lucid prose. ... It is timely to puncture the self-congratulatory culture which is developing amongst health economic evaluators. ... A particular strength of the monograph is the evaluation of the process using Daniels and Sabin’s “accountability for reasonableness” (A4R) framework and especially as this is advocated by NICE. It is a shame that NICE did not perform better. ... The scope of the author’s analysis in the final chapter is impressive. … The issues raised are those which will determine the future of the evaluation process both at the level of application and the conceptual framework."
Jeff Richardson, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic.

M. Schlander:
Der Effizienz auf der Spur. [In Search of Efficiency.]
Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen [German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Health Care] 103 (2), 2009: 117-125.

M. Schlander:
The use of cost-effectiveness by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence:
No(t yet an) exemplar of a deliberative process.

Journal of Medical Ethics 34 (7), 2008: 534-539.
Paper selected "Editor's Choice" of the month.

Subject: Seeking to combine legitimacy and pragmatism, and realizing that utilitarianism'has next to nothing to offer in eradicating health inequalities', NICE put aside questions of whether matters of content can be resolved solely with a reference to 'due process' and explicitly subscribed to the principles of accountability for reasonableness. The paper reveals that NICE has not yet met its stated objective to fulfill the conditions of accountability for reasonableness

M. Schlander:
The luck of being late: Should international health care policy makers follow the NICE model?
E-Bulletin of the Journal of Medical Economics, 1, 2008: 1-2.

M. Schlander:
Has NICE got it right? An international perspective.
Current Medical Research and Opinion 24 (4), 2008: 951-966.

Subject: A previous critical analysis of NICE Technology Appraisal No. 98 revealed a number of issues which must cast doubt on the robustness of the NICE approach. In this paper, potential underlying problems will be explored, followed by a discussion of lessons for international health care policy makers. The paper is intended to be an invitation to further debate and inquiry.

M. Schlander:
Is NICE infallible? A qualitative study of its assessment of treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Current Medical Research and Opinion, 24 (2), February 2008: 515-535 (with supplementary data appendix).

Subject: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is widely regarded as a role model for the implementation of Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) including economic evaluation. Somewhat unexpectedly, the present analysis does not confirm the robustness of the NICE approach when addressing complex clinical decision problems.

M. Schlander:
Impact of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
on Prescription Drug Spending for Children and Adolescents:
Increasing Relevance of Health Economic Evidence
.
Child and Adolesent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 1: 13 (November 15, 2007) 1-17.

M. Schlander:
Aktuelle Daten zur medizinischen Versorgung von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit ADHS in Deutschland: Administrative Prävalenz, beteiligte Arztgruppen und Arzneimitteltherapie
psychoneuro 33 (10), October 2007: 412-415.

Subject: Based on the Nordbaden project, key information is summarized on administrative prevalence, physicians involved in care, and drug treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Germany. Part of a special issue of psychoneuro on ADHD.

M. Schlander, O. Schwarz, G.-E. Trott, M. Viapiano, N. Bonauer:
Who cares for patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 16 (7), October 2007, 430-438.

Subject: This is the first full publication based on the Nordbaden project for health care utilization research. Insights are presented on the age and gender specific administrative prevalence of ADHD in Germany and on physician involvement in health care provision for these patients.

M. Schlander:
Long-acting medications for the hyperkinetic disorders:
a note on cost-effectiveness.

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 16 (7), October 2007, 421-429..

Subject: Recently, a group of European clinicians proposed a treatment guideline covering the use of long-acting medications for the hyperkinetic disorders. These recommendations are discussed in light of currently available economic evaluations.

Evidence submitted to the United Kingdom Parliament, House of Commons, Health Select Committee Inquiry on NICE, March 2007.

E.M. Foster, P.S. Jensen, M. Schlander, W.E. Pelham Jr.,
L. Hechtman, L.E. Arnold, J.M. Swanson, T. Wigal:
Treatment for ADHD: Is more complex treatment cost-effective for more complex cases?
Health Services Research, 42 (1), February 2007, 165-182.

Subject: Analyses of costs and effectiveness of treatment for ADHD must consider the role of therapeutic objectives and comorbidities. From a United States payers' perspective, high-quality medication management appears cost-effective at all levels of willingness to pay. For some comorbid conditions, however. pychosocial interventions (alone or in combination with medication) may become cost-effective choices at higher levels of willingness to pay, too.

M. Schlander:
NICE accountability for reasonableness:
a qualitative study of its appraisal of treatments
for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Current Medical Research and Opinion, 23 (1), January 2007, 207-222.

Subject: A preliminary analysis of the NICE technology appraisal based on a qualitative case study. While the process adhered to predefined timelines and appeared highly (albeit not perfectly) transparent, questions remained regarding fulfillment of the conditions of relevance, appeal, and enforcement under "accountability for reasonableness".

P.S. Jensen, J.A. Garcia, S. Glied, M. Crowe, E.M. Foster,
M. Schlander, and the MTA Cooperative Group:
Cost-Effectiveness of ADHD Treatments:
Findings From the Multimodal Treatment Study
of Children With ADHD.

American Journal of Psychiatry, 162 (9), September 2005, 1628-1636

Subject: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. This paper presents the first economic analysis of clinically proven ADHD treatment strategies based upon the MTA study, the largest clinical trial conducted in this field to date. Findings were first presented at the IACAPAP World Congress in Berlin, August 2004, and at the Annual Meeting of the German Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Psychologists (BKJPP), held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, November 2004. See also here.

M. Schlander:
Drug Utilization and Pharmaceutical Cost-Containment
in Germany:
Perspectives One Year after Enactment of the GMG
Medizinische Klinik 100 (6), June 2005, 314-324

Subject: After three decades of health care cost containment in Germany, enactment of the most recent reform (GMG) marks a watershed: apparently, the potential has been largely exhausted for further savings in pharmaceutical spending. Yet the new drugs segment maintains its role as a growth driver, owing to the continuing shift from older to new, and frequently more expensive, products. It is argued that formal health economic evaluations would be required to better differentiate pharma-ceutical products based on their incremental value or "cost-effectiveness ratio". Further tightening of pharmaceutical component management in Germany may well result in increasing underuse of effective products ("static" inefficiency) as well as in ("second order") dynamic inefficiencies.

For an abstract, please see here.

M. Schlander, O. Schwarz:
Affordability of Increasing Health Care Expenditures
in Germany: A Macroeconomic Analysis.

Gesundheitsoekonomie & Qualitaetsmanagement 10 (3),
June 2005: 178-187

Subject: Future health spending in Germany may rise at a faster rate than the economy as a whole, expressed by increase in gross domestic product (GDP). Abstracting from distributional issues, we analyze how "affordability" depends on real economic growth. Result: At real annual per-capita GDP growth rates exceeding one percent, we find "affordability"
at the macroeconomic level for at least another 50 years. We conclude that willingness-to-pay, not ability-to-pay, will be decisive for future growth of health care spending in Germany. Assuming moderate economic growth, crucial factors determining health care spending will include societal and individual preferences, distributional issues, and the value of medical care.

For an abstract, please see here.

M. Schlander:
Kosteneffektivität und Ressourcenallokation:
Gibt es einen normativen Anspruch der Gesundheitsökonomie?

In: Hermes A. Kick, Jochen Taupitz (eds.): Gesundheitswesen zwischen Wirtschaftlichkeit und Menschlichkeit,
Münster: LIT-Verlag 2005, pp. 37-112

For further information, please see here.

M. Schlander, O. Schwarz, C. Thielscher:
Health Care Expenditures in Germany:
A Macroeconomic Analysis of Long-Term Affordability (Ability-to-Pay)

In: Beate Kremin-Buch, Fritz Unger, Hartmut Walz,
Eveline Häusler (eds.):
Gesundheitsökonomie - Eine Langfristorientierung. Sternenfels:
Verlag Wissenschaft & Praxis Dr. Brauner 2004, pp. 83-129

Subject: It is proposed to differentiate more clearly between affordability of (or ability-to-pay for), financing of (or actual flow of funds for), and willingness-to-pay for health care. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature on growing health care expenditures and existing projections of future spending trends, an analysis is presented of the macroeconomic affordability of a two-percentage point gap between the rates of health care spending and economic growth. It is shown that affordability is highly sensitive to low economic growth rates, whereas at GDP growth rates exceeding one percent, affordability can be expected for the next several decades.

This manuscript is available for download.

M. Schlander:
Vor der Ökonomisierung der ADHS-Therapie ? Gesundheitsökonomische Aspekte
In: Thilo Fitzner, Werner Stark (eds.) Doch unzerstörbar ist mein Wesen... Diagnose AD(H)S - Schicksal oder Chance?
Weinheim: Beltz-Verlag 2004, pp. 417-466.

Subject: Increasing relevance of health economics for health care providers and patients involved with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An introductory text delineating some fundamental principles of economic evaluation, combined with a review of the literature on the economic implications of ADHD. It is argued that three multiplicative factors may lead to escalating costs associated with the treatment of ADHD in Germany: increasing diagnostic prevalence, growing acceptance of pharmacotherapy, and higher unit costs of novel medications.

M. Schlander
Dilemmata der Kosten-Nutzen-Bewertung
medizinischer Innovationen.

Ärzteblatt Sachsen, 3/2004, pp. 85-89.

Subject: German pharmaceutical market dynamics and evaluation of innovative new products. New regulations, enacted with the health care reform of 2003/2004, are discussed against the background of international experience. Emphasis is placed on the "fourth hurdle" and cost-effectiveness analyses. Paper in German.

M. Stadler, M. Schlander, M. Braeckman, T. Nguyen, J.G. Boogaerts:
A Cost-Utility and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
of an Acute Pain Service
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia 16 (3), May 2004, 159-167.

Subject: economic evaluation of a nurse-based acute pain service in a general hospital in Belgium.

For an abstract, please see here.

M. Schlander, C. Thielscher, O. Schwarz:
Affordability Sensitive To Economic Growth Rates.
Health Affairs Vol. 23 (1), January/February 2004, 276-277.

M. Schlander:
Une Simplification Terrible?
Anmerkungen zur geplanten Nutzenbewertung von Arzneimitteln aus gesundheitsökonomischer Perspektive.
Brennpunkt Gesundheitswesen,
No. 11/2003
(December 2003), 22-26

Subject: German health care modernization act ("GKV-Modernisierungsgesetz", GMG). A critique of the approach chosen to discriminate between innovative and me-too pharmaceuticals, combined with some hints on alternatives. Paper in German.

M. Schlander:
Zur Logik der Kosten-Effektivität:
Gesundheitsökonomie und Ressourcenallokation

Deutsches Ärzteblatt 100 (No. 33), August 15, 2003: A2140-A2141.

Subject: the logic of cost-effectiveness. A brief description of the specific variant of utilitarian thought underlying the decision rules of cost-effectiveness analysis.

M. Schlander:
Rationaler Umgang mit neuen Medikamenten:
Zehn Thesen zur geplanten „Vierten Hürde“
für neue Arzneimittel.

Discussion Paper, University of Applied Economic Sciences Ludwigshafen, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, June 30, 2003.

Subject: The “fourth hurdle” for new pharmaceutical products and its alternatives. Written for non-economists, the paper provides ten reasons why pharmaceutical markets can be regulated effectively without resorting to a “fourth hurdle”. It describes, in some detail, a feasible alternative to fourth hurdle regulation. Though available to the members of the Health Care Committee of the German Parliament, the paper apparently failed to influence the consensus negotiated by Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, and the Green Party that became the basis of the German health care modernization act (GMG) of 2003/2004.

F. Gantner, C. Schweiger, M. Schlander:
Naming, Classification, and Trademark Selection:
Implications for Market Success of Pharmaceutical Products.

Drug Information Journal 36 (2002) 807-824.

Subject: Innovation management in the pharmaceutical industry. Successful positioning strategies increasingly need to go beyond trademark selection and branding: in certain situations, identifying an appropriate International Nonproprietary Name (INN) may be essential for classification and, hence, differentiation of new compounds.

M. Schlander:
Rationing Health Care?
Rational Resource Allocation in the Health Care System:

Part 1: Why Rationing will become Inevitable.
Part 2: Spending Decisions by Patients.
Part 3: Spending Decisions by Third Parties
Part 4: Spending Decisions by Physicians.

Medizinische Welt 50 (1999) 210-216, 140-147, 83-90, and 36-41.

Subject: Principles of health economic thinking for physicians. A series of four papers addressing fundamental problems of rational resource allocation in the health care system. Written in German; English abstracts available.

M. Schlander:
Health Economics:
Integrating a New Functional Area
into the Pharmaceutical Corporation.

In: W. Braun, R. Schaltenbrand (eds.): "Die Nutzung der Ressource Synergie - Zukunftssicherung für Forschung, Marketing und Vertrieb", Witten: Universität Witten-Herdecke Verlagsgesellschaft 1998, pp. 150-170.

Subject: The roles of health economics (“pharmacoeconomics”) in the pharmaceutical corporation. A paper discussing stakeholder dynamics, changes in the pricing and reimbursement environment, and the strategic role of health economics.

M. Schlander:
Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Patientenselbstbeteiligung: Wirtschaftliche und medizinisch-ethische Aspekte der Selbstbeteiligung von Patienten an den Kosten des Gesundheitssystems.
In: W. Braun, R. Schaltenbrand (eds.): "Gesundheitswesen 2010: Prognosen, Trends und Chancen”, Witten: Universität Witten-Herdecke Verlagsgesellschaft 1998, pp. 82-103.

Subject: Cost-sharing policies and their effects. The paper (written in German) also includes a brief discussion of some key lessons from the RAND Health Insurance Experiment.

M. Schlander:
The Contribution of Health Economics
to Market-Oriented Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

Witten: Universität Witten-Herdecke Verlagsgesellschaft, 1998.
(Monograph, 240 pages).

A monograph dating back to 1998. Written before the inception of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), it is now incomplete on an important subject matter, not to say outdated. Outsold. One of the few remaining copies may be obtained from the author.