Payers say theyre 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 FiercePharma Marketing 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.
Take an example presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June. Lung cancer patients who used a particular app improved overall survival by seven months compared to average standard follow up care. The app triggered a call to the patient’s doctor when anomalies were noted in the data stream. Providers who attended the meeting were quick to spread the word.
Pharma companies are discovering that developing apps and digital health technologies is just like developing drugs–at least when it comes to persuading payers to cover them.
Payers say theyre 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 FiercePharma Marketing 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.
Take an example presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June. Lung cancer patients who used a particular app improved overall survival by seven months compared to average standard follow up care. The app triggered a call to the patient’s doctor when anomalies were noted in the data stream. Providers who attended the meeting were quick to spread the word.
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