Personalized Medicine in a World of Value Frameworks

The advent of personalized medicine means that therapies are increasingly tailored to the clinical characteristics and preferences of patients – but these therapies can be costly.

With rising concerns about health care costs, there has been increasing interest in assessing the value of drugs and other health care interventions. Many organizations, including the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Society for Clinical Oncology, have developed value frameworks. But when it comes to weighing the value of a medication, value assessments incorporate the perspectives and costs that are most relevant to health systems and payers – not the consequences that can impact patients and their families. Value is much broader than cost, explains National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) Chief Science Officer and Executive Vice President Robert W. Dubois, MD, PhD, in a commentary published in the Journal of Clinical Pathways.

“Personalized medicine and driving for value are key directions in health care today,” Dr. Dubois writes. “They can support one another; in fact, narrowing a medicine’s use to when it is most effective is a wise use of resources.”

When value assessment is thoughtfully combined with personalized medicine, it can lead to stronger outcomes. But there is more work that needs to be done in this area. For frameworks to realize their full potential, they should include subgroup assessments from clinical trials as well as relevant post-trial analyses, as well as both consider and incorporate patient preferences, Dr. Dubois says

To learn more about how to improve value frameworks’ approach to personalized medicine, read Dr. Dubois’ full commentary in the Journal of Clinical Pathways and check out NPC’s resources on value assessment frameworks, including the Guiding Practices for Patient-Centered Value Assessment, an explanatory video and blog posts.