Innovation, productivity, and pricing: Capturing value from precision medicine technology in Canada

For new technology and innovation such as precision medicine to become part of the solution for the fiscal sustainability of Canadian Medicare, decision-makers need to change how services are priced rather than trying to restrain emerging technologies like precision medicine for short-term cost savings. If provincial public payers shift their thinking to be public purchasers, value considerations would direct reform of the reimbursement system to have prices that adjust with technologically driven productivity gains. This strategic shift in thinking is necessary if Canadians are to benefit from the promised benefits of innovations like precision medicine.