Providers' payment and delivery system reforms hold both threats and opportunities for the drug and device industries

For decades, medical device and specialty drug makers have produced a steady stream of breakthroughs and incremental improvements, from cancer therapies to orthopedic joint replacements, drug-eluting stents, and cardiac pacemakers. The advances were financed by a fragmented health care system that paid for whichever clinical technologies were favored by physicians without strong concern for cost. But now hospitals, health systems, insurers, and policy makers are embracing payment reforms that seek to control costs and foster uniformity in the adoption of new drugs and devices. This article explores payment reforms that will have an impact on the medical technology industry and describes opportunities for the industry to flourish in this new, more financially constrained landscape.