The economic evaluation of medical devices: challenges

While many of the principles that guide the economic evaluation of medical devices are somewhat similar to those that guide the evaluation of other health technologies, most outline a methodology that focuses on pharmaceutical products rather providing specific guidance for medical devices. Given that medical devices use a wide range of technologies and can be used for many purposes, conducting an economic analysis for medical devices is not straightforward. The cost and effectiveness of a given technology may depend on a number of factors. The objective of this paper is to provide a summary of issues that need to be addressed before undertaking an economic evaluation of medical devices and to outline a number of suggested approaches for undertaking an economic evaluation of medical devices.