Guidelines for the economic analysis of a telematic platform for Parkinson´s disease monitoring

PERFORM (A sophisticated multi-parametric system FOR the continuous effective assessment and monitoring of motor status in Parkinson´s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases) is an European project which aim is to provide doctors with a telematic tool for the remote monitoring of Parkinson´s disease (PD) patients at their homes. The technical performance of PERFORM has been addressed in previous publications. The aim of this work is to introduce the best well-known methodologies and indicators used in the health economics field, normally linked to the assessment of drugs or devices, and provide a set of guidelines for the use of these methodologies in the assessment of telehealth systems focused on PD patients. PD will also be introduced in economic terms, i.e. burden and cost of PD. This study will be done with special emphasis in European countries.