1 EDITORIAL (Pre-publication Draft) Where Does High-quality Research in Economic Evaluation Come From?

The U.S. health care system is the most expensive such system in the world with regard to health care spending as a fraction of the gross domestic product and per capita health care spending, and the overall performance of the U.S. health care system was ranked 37th among all nations.1 Although such a spending level can be explained, in part, by the preference for cutting-edge technology and the willingness of the U.S. population to pay for it,2 there is continuous debate about the efficiency and sustainability of this model of health care. Clinical pharmacy services (CPS), as an integral part of the U.S. health care system, is no exception because it must present evidence of value to justify its continuation or expansion of services. The report by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy titled “Economic Evaluation of Clinical Pharmacy Services 2001–2005”3 is a timely product with which to review the status of research and quality of evidence in measuring the economic value of CPS. This report found that among 93 articles reviewed, 25 (27%) were of good quality and 53 (57%) were of poor quality with regard to the economic analysis conducted. The report strongly suggested that the methods used to examine the economic impact of CPS need improvement. The studies reviewed in the report were conducted in eight health care settings, such a