Analysis of the eligibility of published economic evaluations for transfer to a given health care system. Methodological approach and application to the French health care system

CONTEXT: Economic evaluations are costly and cannot always be carried out locally. Therefore, decision-makers may wish to use studies already performed in other settings. OBJECTIVE: To define a method for assessing the eligibility of published economic evaluations for transfer to a given health care system and apply it to the french health care system in the clinical situation of adjuvant therapy for women with breast cancer. METHODS: (1) Literature search in six databases from 1982 to 1996; (2) critical appraisal of articles based on four inclusion criteria; and (3) assessment of the eligibility of the studies for transfer based on five indicators. RESULTS: We identified 26 published economic evaluations concerning adjuvant therapy in women with breast cancer. Six (23%) met all four criteria used to select studies, but none of these studies were eligible for transfer to the french health care system. The main reason was that cost data was not reported in a transparent way. CONCLUSIONS: To improve the transferability of economic evaluations, we recommend that requirements for data provision in publications be standardized and international collaboration strengthened.