This study analyzes the relationship between official price, market price, and the demand for pharmaceuticals used in the cardiovascular therapeutic area. I present a simple model in which the effects of official price, market price, and individual specific effects are distinguished. The empirical results are in accord with the conventional knowledge of pharmaceutical demand. In particular, the elasticity of market price ranged from -0.6 to -1.1. The effects of the official price are in most cases insignificant. The recent price reduction has made demand more elas tic to market price, particularly for those of long marketed paharmaceuiticals. In addition to the roles of market price, demand was determined by the individual sepcific effects. Japanese pharmaceutical price policy has failed in two senses. One is that it did not incorporate information on the wide differences in demand elasticity of the market price and the other is that it failed to focus on individual specific effects.
The model used here can be applied to the demand for pharmaceuticals in general. The results also portray the price setting behavior of Japanese pharmaceutical firms.

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Vol. 9 (1999) No. 2 p. 9-11

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Vol. 9 (1999) No. 2 p. 15-16

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Vol. 9 (1999) No. 2 p. 68

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The paper examines the multiple sources of impediments to the adoption, diffusion and sedimentation of the global standard practices within pharmaceutical firms in Japan and Europe. Various factors were examined as potential sources of impediments: cognitive barriers, political barriers, institutional barriers, along with such factors as causal ambiguity, the lack of absorptive/retentive capacity, and the lack of relationship.
My empirical study of 85 Japanese and European pharmaceutical firms revealed the following trends: (1) Impediments to the adoption of the practicestend to arise from the cognitive barrier; (2) Impediments to the diffusion of the practices tend to arise from the political barrier; (3) Impediments to the sedimentation of the practices tend to arise from the institutional barrier; (4) Causal ambiguity inherent in the practices tends to impede its adoption; (5) The lack of absorptive/retentive capacity on the part of the recipient units tends to impede the diffusion of the practices; (6) The lack of absorptive/retentive capacity on the part of the recipient units also tends to impede the sedimentation of the practices; (7) The impediments to the adoption, diffusion and sedimentation of the practices seem to be more salient among the Japanese. pharmaceutical firms than their European counterparts; and (8) The impediments to the adoption, diffusion and sedimentation of the GCP-related practices are not necessarily more salient than those of other practices.

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The Informed Consent Task Force on Epidemiological Studies conducted three main studies. The principal results are noted below.
1. Research on informed consent (IC) in epidemiological studies
This is the first study that revealed the actual conditions of IC in epidemiological studies in Japan. A total of 233 ( 70.6% ) epidemiologists did some explanation to research subjects and 156 ( 47.3% ) confirmed participation agreement.
2. Research on the attitudes of the general public with respect to epidemiological studies
We examined what kind of information research subjects needed before participation on research depended on what sort of health information they would be required to provide.
3. Review of ethical issues on epidemiological studies overseas
We investigated the ethical situation surrounding access to medical records in the UK and the USA. Furthermore, we examined IC issues from a legal perspect.
The Task Force found that it is indispensable to have various opportunities for discussion in order to establish ethical guidelines for IC on epidemiological studies.

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Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) has been accepted as a new outcome for health care evaluation and measuring HRQOL as individual data is becoming an important issue. However, several methodological and other aspects about HRQ0Lmeasurement for individual use should be considered. Length and convenience of the measurement tool as well as sensibility and reliability should be reevaluated. For individual assessment, higher sensibility and reliability is needed than for epiderniologic use. When interpreting the results, we also should consider the effect of case mix, such as comorbidity and severity of illness, to HRQOL. Patient's practice in serial measurement is another point of methodological problems involved.
Evaluation of care services using comprehensive health index for the individuals is reasonable. Clinical application of HRQOL measurement should be enhanced by taking the above factors into consideration.

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