Posted by Michael Wonder on 24 Mar 2017
Cost effective but unaffordable: an emerging challenge for health systems
23 March 2017 - New “budget impact test” is an unpopular and flawed attempt to solve a fundamentally political problem
With hospital wards overflowing and trusts in deficit, the introduction of cost effective but expensive new technologies places increasing strain on NHS finances. NICE and NHS England plan to tackle this problem by delaying the introduction of interventions with a “high budget impact.” The change may deliver short term savings but is flawed.
What prompted the new policy? In 2015 NICE recommended the use of several new drugs for hepatitis C. Although they were judged clinically useful and cost effective, NHS England considered them unaffordable, with annual costs of between £700m and £1bn, and delayed adoption.
