In Value Assessment, Additional Voices Bring Much-needed Alternative Perspectives

As conversations on health care spending continue to grab headlines, tools to better understand how to evaluate and encourage value in health care are more in demand than ever. Value assessment frameworks, which attempt to provide an evaluation of the value of various treatments and therapies, are increasingly cited as a part of that conversation and can be a valuable tool when used appropriately. However, not all value frameworks are applicable to all situations and we must continue to explore when and how they are appropriate to use, as is happening now in the wake of CVS Health’s announcement that it will use the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s (ICER) cost-effectiveness thresholds in its formulary management.

While ICER’s value assessment framework may be the most recognized, there are other approaches to value assessment that are more patient-centric and transparent. The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), a group representing a wide range of health care stakeholders working to improve the methods and the practice of assessing the value of health care technologies, also has developed a framework that it hopes will offer an alternate approach to understanding value in health care treatments. In an interview published in the Journal of Clinical Pathways, IVI details why value assessment is a critical field in the future of health care, highlights patient-centricity as a crucial component of framework success and explains why the transparency of their open-source approach to value framework development is necessary.

The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) has been keeping a close eye on value assessment frameworks for several years, engaging with developers on ways to improve their methodologies, involve patient organizations and use a broad range of evidence-based considerations, as outlined in our Guiding Practices for Patient-Centered Value Assessment. As noted in our Guiding Practices, there is no single answer to a value assessment. Just as a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for treating individual patients, one framework alone won’t be able to address all health care questions or end-user needs. Alternative approaches to value assessment frameworks brought by groups like IVI bring important new perspectives to the discussion on value in health care. For more on value assessment frameworks, visit NPC’s blog and research library.

Note: NPC is a member organization of both ICER and IVI.