Five critical questions apply when evaluating the cost of healthcare technology: Who is asking the question (of how to evaluate healthcare costs)? For what purpose? What is the nature of the decision that must be made? At what state of a technology’s development and diffusion are the questions being posed? What type of technology is stimulating the questions? A large number of organizations, both national and international, are engaged in technology assessment, and constructive disagreement improves the overall quality of those assessments. Current cost measurement tools such as cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and outcomes research are weak and ineffective. Recently, pharmaceutical manufacturers have adopted more global cost-effectiveness studies. Technology assessments will ultimately focus on examining the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative technologies for a specific pathology or DRG. In addition to the traditional healthcare facility—hospital, outpatient facility, or group practice, group purchasing organizations are also asking about cost-effectiveness of healthcare. ECRI’s SELECT’” process, unlike less effective technology assessments, takes into account real- world user experience data and life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis in addition to detailed comparisons of technical features and performance.

Date Published: 6 December 1994
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 2307, Health Care Technology Policy I: The Role of Technology in the Cost of Health Care, (6 December 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.195437

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2307:
Health Care Technology Policy I: The Role of Technology in the Cost of Health Care
Warren S. Grundfest M.D., Editor(s)