Which health technologies should be funded? A prioritization framework based explicitly on value for money

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Health Technology Assessment
• Decision Analysis

Background:

• Healthcare systems face difficult decisions regarding funding new technologies.
• Israel's 'health basket' committee prioritizes technologies for public access.
• A need exists for a systematic framework for health technology prioritization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel framework for health technology prioritization based on value for money.
• To provide a tool for decision-makers to explicitly include key variables in prioritization.
• To offer a model adaptable for other countries' health technology assessment agencies.

Main Methods:

• A multi-criteria decision analysis approach was employed.
• Four key variables were compared: incremental benefits (including equity), incremental costs, evidence quality, and 'X-factors'.
• A points system was used to aggregate benefits, and a 'Value for Money (VfM) Chart' was developed.

Main Results:

• The VfM Chart visually compares technologies based on the four prioritized variables.
• It aids in identifying cost-effective technologies and selecting those for funding under budget constraints.
• The framework was demonstrated using 18 illustrative health technologies.

Conclusions:

• The VfM Chart serves as an intuitive decision-support tool for health technology prioritization.
• It facilitates systematic, transparent, and communicable deliberations on funding trade-offs.
• Future research should involve pilot-testing the VfM Chart with real-world data and collaborating with prioritization committees.