Resumo em Inglês:

The new global context, the dramatic rise in the cost of many health technologies, and the mounting pressures that constrain health sector budgets in most countries have created the need to evaluate health interventions, including pharmaceuticals, from an economic perspective. Pharmacoeconomics is "the application of economic theory to pharmacotherapeutics" and is often linked to commercial marketing. We propose standardizing the various methods of economic analysis so as to allow for comparisons and assessment of correct relationships. The author concludes pharmacoeconomics is simply an analytical tool that can be applied for scientific assessment or commercial promotion, depending on the objectives and purpose for which the use of this new discipline is intended.

Resumo em Inglês:

Work-related accidents and illnesses cause significant economic and social losses in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, the lack of reliable and systematized data on that situation makes it harder for health authorities and business operators to make decisions and for workers and the general public to take steps to improve working conditions, reduce risks, and prevent those accidents and illnesses. To address that concern, the Program on Workers' Health of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) coordinated the Project on Systematizing Basic Data on Workers' Health in the Countries of the Americas. A report on the project issued in August 1998 contains results, conclusions, and recommendations based on data collected from 10 countries of the Region: Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. The data were systematized and presented in 42 tables that allowed comparisons among the countries and evaluations of the situation in any one of the countries. Data from countries with adequate record keeping made it clear that many persons work in sectors with high rates of accidents and chronic disease. The research also found it is often hard to analyze trends and changes in labor mortality and morbidity and the conditions that increase the frequency of accidents and occupational diseases. That is because countries and institutions use a variety of approaches to classify, diagnose, and report diseases and occupational injuries, and also frequently modify their criteria. As a follow-up to this research, PAHO is working to compile more specific information on occupational health in the countries of the Region, through an approach that would improve the quality of the information and make it easier to compare the data that is collected.