Over the past several years, chronic pain and the use of opioids have been a dominant topic of conversation and a primary focus in healthcare. Tragically, in our attempt to improve the pain management in those we serve, an epidemic of narcotic misuse, abuse, and dependency occurred. To stem the rapidly increasing opioid crisis, the focus on fixing… Read More »
United States purchasers of healthcare pay higher prices for a unit of service relative to other countries. In fact, these prices are primarily opaque, and the consumer rarely knows what it will owe for payment before they make a purchase. Market-based economics argue that price transparency of products leads to greater competition, thus leading to lower costs over… Read More »
There is a significant amount of discussion concerning the prices of drugs. For example, the spending on pharmaceutical treatment of cancer has increased $19 billion from 2012 to 2016. Price growth continues, and analysts estimate that by 2021, 25% of all new pharma research will be on cancer treatment and 87% of this growth will be on targeted,… Read More »
As discussed in a previous blog, using true value-based drug pricing will require us to implement an agreed-upon benchmark such as Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY). The Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an organization that attempts to incorporate qualitative information gathered through public engagement, QALYs, price estimates that may vary with the size of a… Read More »
In continuing our conversation concerning value-based pricing of services, we would be remiss if we neglected to focus on the escalation of drug prices. Even now, treatments exist for various diseases that are swiftly approaching the $1,000,000 mark. With increasingly more of these agents coming to market, we can rapidly discern a time where the cost of our… Read More »
Historically, the pricing of medicine has not been defined by the value it brings. On the provider side, whether the provider is a facility such as a hospital, or a person such as a doctor, payment is based on delivering a service regardless of the outcome of that service. Unless there is a guarantee, we pay for various… Read More »
When we think about drug costs, many people immediately go to the idea that drug companies are just trying to maximize the return on their investment like any other company. But drug companies have high research and development costs, and are a constant risk of “losing” customers because medication adherence is low. High upfront costs and customer instability… Read More »