Defining what it means matters because public and private healthcare payers in the U.S. and around the world are moving away from traditional fee-for-service payments. Instead, payers such as the U.S. government’s Medicare program and private insurers favor health providers delivering more efficient and effective care. The situation means that device companies need to have arguments for why their products create value, both to persuade hospitals and clinics to use their devices and to arrange reimbursement from insurers.
Some top medical device industry executives explored the meaning of value during a panel at the recent DeviceTalks Minnesota, June 26–27 in St. Paul. (The next DeviceTalks is Oct. 2 in Boston.) Here’s what they had to say:
Sheri Dodd
VP and general manager, Medtronic Care Management Services (formerly Cardiocom)
“At Medtronic, when we talk about value in healthcare, we start with specifics and are trying to focus on specific populations. We’re trying to define narrow cohorts, with very specific outcomes over a very specific time period, and measure the optimal clinical outcomes that matter to patients. We believe that the more narrow you focus, the more refined and specific you get, the more you will actually be able to address value. If you achieve this, you should not get paid based on volume but rather get paid based on outcomes. These aren’t just words, this is what our CEO is talking about all the time, and he is very serious about it, so we are undergoing a lot of that measurement work. We’re identifying what products we have that truly get to this cost-over-outcome equation that we can stand behind with data, and enable the appropriate intervention and then change the way we’re in the market.”
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