1. University of Southern California Department of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy 1540 E. Alcazar Street, CHP 140 Los Angeles, CA 90089-9004 323.442.1460 http://www.usc.edu/hsc/pharmacy/pharmecon/

2. Department Faculty and Students n 5 faculty (Ahn, Hay, Johnson, McCombs, Nichol) n Recruiting an open level position n 5-8 Masters students n 5-8 Doctoral students n Graduate programs focus on pharmaceutical economics and health services research n Graduate programs include coursework from Economics, Policy Planning and Development, Preventive Medicine (biostatistics)

3. Graduate Courses n Health Care Policy n Applied Health Econometrics n Health Decision Analysis n Research Design and Analysis n Quality of Life and Survey Design n Risks, Probabilities, and Preferences

4. Department Areas of Interest n Decision analysis and modelling n Integrated claims analysis (Medicaid, Medicare, managed care) n Quality of life n Health utility measures (QALYs) n Evaluation of provider and consumer interventions

5. Decision Analytic Modelling n Key Finding: Recently, Department faculty testified at the FDA hearing on converting non-sedating antihistamines from Rx to OTC status. The cost-effectiveness analysis presented demonstrated that the conversion would be cost-saving to the U.S., because of reductions in mortality and morbidity. Subsequent analyses demonstrated that insurance programs should cover both OTC and prescription antihistamines

6. Integrated Claims Analysis n Department faculty recently presented research that showed 25% of Medi-Cal patients with schizophrenia delay initiating drug therapy during the first year of treatment. This results in increased costs of more than $9,400 per patient, primarily due to higher hospital costs of over $5,200 per patient.

7. Burden of Illness, Treatment Patterns, and Costs n Research by Department faculty has shown that treatment for lupus in a Medicaid population varies significantly by ethnicity. In this study, Hispanic patients experienced lower costs than African-American and white patients.

8. Quality of Life n Department faculty have shown that Latinos poorer self-reported visual functioning, and are less likely to seek vision care than whites and blacks.

9. Utility Estimating Procedures n Department faculty have derived utility estimating procedures that will allow investigators to apply a generic health status instrument (the SF-36) in computing quality adjusted life years (QALYs). This technology could potentially expand the use of QALYs in cost-effectiveness analysis dramatically. n Department faculty have also applied conjoint analysis methods to determine patient preferences for treatment alternatives in several key diseases.