Healthcare And Technology

*This is a collaborative post

HTA stands for Health Technology Assessment. This form of training has been designed so that people can understand the concept of how HTA can be utilised in order to determine access to a new pharmaceutical product, as well as the price and reimbursement. If you are interested in taking such a course or you believe that this is something your team could benefit from, it is important to have a thorough understanding of what health technology assessment training should incorporate. With that being said, read on to get a better understanding regarding the different elements of such a training course.

Before new treatments or drugs are adopted, their cost and effectiveness need to be thoroughly assessed, which is where the Health Technology Assessment comes in. The course is designed to ensure that all students can answer critical questions about a prospective new treatment. This includes questions like: How can we make sense of all of the evidence? How do we know if the treatment is beneficial? How is evidence of the cost of the drugs used in a Health Technology Assessment? You will explore how the final Health Technology Assessment report fits within the broader range of information that it utilised to make decisions about which treatments to fund.

There are many different subjects covered within Health Technology Assessment training. A good course will always start by providing a thorough definition of a HTA, as well as showcasing the different types of assessments that are used around the world. You will also learn about the process involved when putting together a Health Technology Assessment, as well as the different components of an HTA submission. The best course providers will also talk you over how to address any uncertainties in a Health Technology Assessment, how top optimise the quality of the evidence, as well as any manufacturer considerations that should be taken into account. The training courses should be supplemented with real life examples, making it much easier for students to thoroughly understand an HTA in action.

By the end of the course, all students should be able to explore the assessment procedure for any new health technology, as well as how this is applicable to the prospective decision outcome. You should also be able to investigate a Health Technology Assessment and thoroughly understand the way in which the evidence is put forward. Students should be able to explain how decisions are made regarding which health treatments are funded to a member of the public or patient, and which health treatments are not. And finally, students should also be competent in adding to an informed discussion on whether or not a new health technology is funded and adopted by a national healthcare system like the NHS or any other system around the world.

As you can see, there are many different elements of HTA training. Hopefully, you now feel like you have a better understanding regarding the different subjects that should be covered and what things you will learn about if you decide to embark on such a course. The best training courses will include real life case studies, as this is the best way for you to see what your organisation should do in order to ensure your products’ HTA outcomes are optimised to the highest level.

QALY and ICER Explained

Pharmacoeconomics is growing at a rapid pace despite being a relatively new field of study. For those who are unaware, this involves studying health care economics, or more specifically, the economics of drugs.

This field of study aims to look at both the benefits and side effects of specific drugs alongside the cost of production, providing a well-rounded view so that companies involved in drug development and production can make more intelligent cost/benefit decisions.

As a consequence, these studies have a significant impact on research and development expenditure. They also ensure that businesses and professionals have all of the knowledge and tools needed to determine the correct pricing for any new drugs that have been approved.

There are two key Pharmacoeconomic measures that are used so that the correct pricing decisions are made. These are known as QALY, which is Quality Adjusted Life Year, and ICER, which stands for Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio. We are going to explain both in further detail below.

QALY / Quality Adjusted Life Year

Let’s start with QALY, or Quality Adjusted Life Year, which is all about quantifying the benefit that a drug may have to a patient over their lifetime.

QALY is used across the entire pharmaceutical industry so that companies can set competitive prices and conduct effective analysis. It is widely used in the United Kingdom, as QALY metrics play an important role in the NHS prescriptions when determining what sort of drugs should be covered by the state health care system.

So, how does QALY work? It takes how health care intervention will impact both the quality of the person’s life and the quantity of their life into consideration. A mathematical equation is used, which will give you the life expectancy compared to the quality of life for the person’s remaining years.

This is a good way for professionals to truly see the benefits that a drug will have over the lifetime of all patients, rather than looking at the benefits in regard to just one person.

ICER / Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio

Next we have ICER, which is similar to the above, yet there are key differences. ICER is used for drug comparison. It is the ratio between the cost difference and the benefit difference of two interventions.

In basic terms, it is used so you can decipher the economic value of one drug compared to any alternatives.

To calculate an ICER, the difference of the incremental costs (total costs) is divided by the differences in the incremental effect (differences in the impact on health outcome). This will produce a ratio that is equal to the extra cost per extra unit of health effect.

This sum can assist in decision making, enabling you to determine whether to release a new product onto market or replace an existing one.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding regarding the two key measures that are used in Pharmacoeconomics to make pricing decisions. This is critical if you work in pricing and product reimbursement, as you will be tasked with making important decisions, including the best price for your products. Health economics training is certainly worth considering if you are looking to improve your decision-making.