RAND on driving low cost, high value medical product innovation

Lack of basic scientific knowledge about some disease processes, costs and risks of FDA approval, limited rewards for medical products that could lower spending, treatment creep and the medical arms race all tend to increase healthcare spending without conferring major health benefits, according to a recent report.

Public policy research organization RAND researched policy options to advance two goals: reducing total healthcare spending with the smallest possible loss of health benefits; and ensuring that new medical products that increase spending are accompanied by health benefits that are worth the spending increases. Specifically, it examine peer-reviewed literature, convened a panel on the topic and conducted 50 one-on-one expert interviews—then conducted case studies of eight medical products.

The research organization identified 10 policy options to advance its two policy goals. These are:

(1) Enable more creativity in funding basic science

(2) Offer prizes for inventions

(3) Buy out patents

(4) Establish a public-interest investment fund

(5) Expedite FDA reviews and approvals

(6) Reform Medicare payment policies

(7) Reform Medicare coverage policies

(8) Coordinate FDA approval and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services coverage processes

(9) Increase demand for technologies that decrease spending

(10) Produce more timely technology assessments.

Learn more about the report here.