By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    benefits of using protein powder to build muscles
    Protein Powder for Muscle Mass: Everything You Need to Know
    December 12, 2021
    changes brought on by blockchain in healthcare
    Technology In The Healthcare Industry
    March 28, 2022
    What Does Core Body Temperature Say About Health?
    August 17, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Collaborating for Population Health Management Strategy
    December 30, 2012
    ACO
    What Are the Current Trends in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)?
    April 26, 2013
    patient engagement
    How to Engage Patients: Start with Strategic Planning
    August 18, 2013
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: What is a Healthcare Innovation Really Worth?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > What is a Healthcare Innovation Really Worth?
FinanceMedical InnovationsPolicy & LawTechnology

What is a Healthcare Innovation Really Worth?

Caroline Popper
Caroline Popper
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

Healthcare, even for the insured, can wreak extremely high financial costs for patients, e.g., with hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer treatments and new drugs that can run up to $10,000 a dose.

Healthcare, even for the insured, can wreak extremely high financial costs for patients, e.g., with hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer treatments and new drugs that can run up to $10,000 a dose. While it’s morally impossible to determine the exact value of a human life, a group at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is starting to ask a related question—how cost-effective are cancer treatments?

A recent article in Xconomy by Luke Timmerman that highlighted the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center study also pointed out that inefficiencies arise because many patients who could benefit from treatment never receive the drug. That puts the ultimate value of a drug that may cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop at zero. In addition, many people who have insurance can’t get reimbursed for certain treatments, and therefore still face financial hardships:

“Ramsey has already dug up some disturbing findings about how much money is spent, and how little value is gained. One study showed that among patients who have insurance, almost 40 percent suffered from ‘severe financial strain’ which was defined as re-mortgaging one’s home to afford medication, borrowing money from friends, or using up their life’s savings. Another study found that Genentech’s hit antibody drug, bevacizumab (Avastin), had almost a zero percent chance of being cost-effective for lung cancer patients (actually, it was a 0.2 percent probability). That hasn’t stopped the growth of cancer drug spending.”

More Read

ACA
Some Big Health Plans Must Think Exchanges Will Succeed
Are Some Patients More at Risk of Medical Malpractice Than Others?
Staying Competitive – Financing Medical Equipment and Technology in the Global Healthcare Market
How We Ration Care
Affordable Care: Your Prospective Patients Are Mighty Confused

Digital healthcare pioneer Eric Topol suggests that this costly scenario may be temporary. As healthcare becomes more targeted and consumer-oriented (as opposed to disease and subject-oriented), driven in large measure by increases in our understanding of the biology of diseases, the costs of developing treatments that can directly benefit an individual will go down. Ultimately prices will follow costs down, but until that happens, we still face a hefty cost-effectiveness question.

As a health economist, I believe that cost-effectiveness is not something you add after a product launch. Instead, the team creating any new device, diagnostic or treatment must incorporate cost-effectiveness at the beginning. This extends beyond reimbursement issues into whether the innovation will result in improved patient outcomes at a reasonable price. This is not as extreme as a purely financial ratio to determine value. It is, rather, a holistic view of how well a patient comes out from these treatments, both healthily and financially.

Do you think cost-effectiveness can be accurately measured in today’s environment? Will future, genetic-based treatments increase value? How would you incorporate cost-effectiveness into an innovative treatment or device? Would love to know your thoughts.


Original article

TAGGED:cancer treatmentHealthcare Innovation
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

You’re Not Going to Believe This

January 3, 2012

Vestagen Gets $8.3M for Super Scrubs

August 29, 2013
biopharma beat Apple HealthKit
DiagnosticseHealthHospital AdministrationNewsTechnologyWellness

BioPharma Beat: Apple and the Dawn of the Worried Well (the Sequel)

June 3, 2014
SpecialtiesTechnology

Five Key Things You Should Know About Hearing Aids

August 26, 2019
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?