The American Medical Association released a statement yesterday in support of value-based pricing of pharmaceuticals. However, AMA claims that value-based pricing should follow the following core principles.
- Value-based prices of pharmaceuticals should be determined by objective, independent entities. They also should be evidence-based and the result of valid and reliable inputs and data that incorporate rigorous scientific methods including clinical trials, clinical data registries, comparative effectiveness research and robust outcome measures that capture short- and long-term clinical outcomes.
- Processes to determine value-based prices of pharmaceuticals must be transparent, easily accessible to physicians and patients, and provide practicing physicians and researchers a central and significant role. They should also limit administrative burdens on physicians and patients.
- Those same processes should incorporate affordability criteria to help assure patient affordability and limit system-wide budgetary impact.
- Value-based pricing of pharmaceuticals should allow for patient variation and physician discretion.
Not only are payers and policymakers getting on board with value-based drug pricing, but providers–like the AMA–and even life sciences companies themselves are getting on board.
In my role as Director of Research at the Innovation and Value Initiative, questions such as how to measure value and the identification of the best methods for tying reimbursement to value are the exactly the questions we are interested in answering with rigorous scientific research.
It’s exciting that there is a growing interest in this area across a broad set of health care stakeholders.