Economic Evaluation of Influenza Vaccination Assessment for The Netherlands Maarten J. Postma, 1 Jasper M. Bos, 2 Mark van Gennep, 1 Johannes C. Jager, 2 Rob Baltussen 3 and Marc J.W. Sprenger 4 1 Groningen University Institute for Drug Exploration (GUIDE), Groningen, The Netherlands † 2 Department of Health Services Research, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands 3 Department of Health, Organisation, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands 4 Health Care Insurance Board, Amstelveen, The Netherlands † Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the costs associated with influenza and the cost effectiveness (net costs per life-year gained) of influenza vaccination in The Netherlands. Design and setting: The economic evaluation comprised a cost-of-illness assess- ment and a cost-effectiveness analysis, both of which were conducted from the healthcare perspective in The Netherlands. The modelling framework for the economic evaluation linked epidemiological aspects of influenza (e.g. incidence, mortality, years of life lost) to vaccination coverage and healthcare resource use. Healthcare resource use was specified for hospitalisations, general practitioner visits and drugs. Intervention: The intervention assessed in the cost-effectiveness analysis was influenza vaccination. Main outcome measures and results: The costs of influenza were estimated to be 31 million euros (EUR) for the influenza season 1995/96 in The Netherlands (EUR1 ≈ $US1.1). For the extended programme in 1997/98, i.e. all elderly people, the cost-effectiveness ratio was estimated at EUR1820 per life-year gained. Sub- group analysis demonstrated that the programme had a more favourable cost effectiveness among the chronically ill elderly population (cost saving) than among the rest of the elderly population (EUR6900 per life-year gained). Conclusion: Influenza vaccination has a cost-effectiveness ratio that is better than or comparable to that of other implemented Dutch programmes in the pre- vention of infectious diseases. ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Pharmacoeconomics 1999; 16 Suppl. 1: 33-40 1170-7690/99/0001-0033/$04.00/0 © Adis International Limited. All rights reserved. † Dr Postma and Dr Sprenger completed this study while employed by the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.