2020 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 11-19
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to systematically search for a cost-effectiveness analysis (cost-utility analysis) and a cost-benefit analysis using expenses under the medical system of Japan, and to examine its characteristics.
Methods: We performed systematic searches in five electronic databases, extracted data from the selected articles, and described the features of the articles. Articles in English or Japanese were selected if they included an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, an incremental cost-utility ratio, a net monetary benefit, a net health benefit, or an incremental net benefit and if they used cost data under the healthcare system of Japan.
Result and Discussion: We identified 325 articles published from 1983 to 2018. Although health economic evaluation studies have been increasing in Japan in recent years, there were still many studies that did not adhere to key methodological recommendations for quality reporting as compared to the results of a systematic review conducted mainly in Europe and North America. The quality of studies on health economic evaluation in Japan should be improved further. To improve the quality of such studies, it is desirable to construct a database of health economic evaluation studies based on the Japanese healthcare system.
