Original article in Techonomy on a conference panel discussion at Techonomy NYC. Excerpt:
“The panel touched upon one of the most profound changes happening in healthcare—the shift towards outcomes-based pricing. As healthcare systems everywhere face escalating strain from growing disease burdens and out-of-control costs, patients and payers are increasingly demanding new models of reimbursement that focus on the value that treatments confer rather than the amount of treatment delivered. A new medicine, for example, might show impressive health benefits in a clinical trial, but it may have more muted impacts on patients in the real world. Wouldn’t it be amazing if patients only had to pay for medicines and other treatments when they actually work?
The connectivity-fueled explosion of real-time data about what happens during treatment makes this vision possible. It gives healthcare systems the power to measure outcomes with more speed and accuracy than in the past, and use those measurements to direct funds to the most effective therapies. While such outcomes-based reimbursement models are not yet a widespread reality, forward-thinking healthcare organizations like Bayer are imagining a world where they are the norm.”
What a fascinating concept! I wonder… is pharma included in the vision of value-based healthcare that the HHS has been pushing the past year? With so many patients taking medications, a focus on medication efficacy would do wonders, not only for outcomes, but also great reduce costs.
Here’s to hoping that interoperable health data can lead to true, real-time measurements that improve care in every segment.
