Future Economic Evaluations in Rheumatoid Arthritis : a case for considering comprehensive benefits and costs of interventions

This thesis focuses on multiple aspects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) such as, disease target measures, the heterogeneous nature of RA both in terms of baseline characteristics of RA patients (through considerations of subgroups/treatment modifiers) as well as outcomes that are not joint-related. By focusing on these aspects of the disease, a case is built for the consideration of incorporating appropriate measures of disease activity as outcomes measures or treatment target; subgroups of RA patients at risk of rapid progression of disease and with high unmet need; and finally the incorporation of non-joint related outcomes of RA. Consideration of these aspects when performing economic evaluations of interventions in RA could facilitate more precise estimation of clinical and economic benefits thus enabling a better differentiation of interventions from standard of care and address key unmet needs of RA patients. The thesis is divided into 4 parts:
Part 1: Real world outcomes evidence of Treat to Target
Part 2: Poor prognostic factors when present simultaneous
Part 3: Extra-articular manifestation and cardiovascular risk in RA
Part 4: Future considerations in cost effectives in RA