Posted by Michael Wonder on 16 Aug 2016
Drug pricing: pay for benefits, not pills
16 August 2016 - Global pressure on health spending is forcing the $US1 trillion ($A1.30 trillion) a year pharmaceutical industry to look for new ways to price its products: charging based on how much they improve patients' health, rather than how many pills or vials are sold.
In the United States, both major political parties are promising fresh action on drug prices whoever wins the White House. In Europe, economies are stalled, squeezing state health budgets. And, in China and other Asian markets, governments are getting tougher with suppliers.
Pricing drugs based on clinical outcomes is one way to ensure that limited funds bring the most benefits to patients now and pay for the most promising medical advances in future.
Some experiments in pricing have already been made.
