Advances in foundational science, technology, and clinical knowledge are driving a revolution in patient care. At the same time, spending on these innovative drugs and devices has increased dramatically. The question is, what—if anything—should be done to regulate this innovation? To balance physician prescribing of state-of-the-art drugs and patient desires to access them with the fiscal realities of high treatment costs, many governments have turned to health technology assessment (HTA) bodies to identify “high value” treatments. The authors discuss the history of HTA in the US, the issues of conducting HTA in the US context, and the need for innovation in how value is measured and linked to reimbursement.
Source: Health Affairs Blog