Wearables, digital medicine and ‘beyond-the-pill’ are the latest healthcare craze. New technologies–particular those combined with patients mobile phones–offer the promise of improving patient health. One question is will insurance companies, the government and other payers actually reimburse for these technologies. According to a recent FiercePharma article, the answer is yes…if there is evidence.
Payers say they’re willing to reimburse for digital health technologies, the health economics consultancy Xcenda found in a recent survey. But they need proof first. “Payers want to see the clinical effectiveness of these digital health technologies and they want to understand the cost effectiveness,” Xcenda President Tommy Bramley told FiercePharmaMarketing in an interview.
That may be why many payers are evaluating technologies, but few of those surveyed are currently covering them. Digital health purveyors, including pharma, need to better demonstrate the clinical and economic value to payers, Bramley said.
Evidence is key to demonstrating the value of these new technologies.