How Can Cost-Effectiveness Information Help Control Unsustainable Growth in U.S. Health Care Spending?
Authors: Robert A. Murden
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2009)

Letters6 January 2009How Can Cost-Effectiveness Information Help Control Unsustainable Growth in U.S. Health Care Spending?Robert A. Murden, MD and Eric E. Seiber, PhDRobert A. Murden, MDFrom Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.Search for more papers by this author and Eric E. Seiber, PhDFrom Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-150-1-200901060-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read with interest the position paper on a national comparative effectiveness program (1) and the related editorials (2, 3). This is very timely because there is general agreement that the growth in health care spending in the United States is unsustainable. We contend that one of the most increasingly important contributors to rising costs is innovations with marginal benefits, and the only way to assess the benefit–financial risk ratio of these marginal benefits is precisely to tie cost-effectiveness with clinical effectiveness. This is best demonstrated with an example.In 1996, the CAPRIE (Clopidogrel versus Aspirin in ...References1. American College of Physicians. Information on cost-effectiveness: an essential product of a national comparative effectiveness program. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:956-61. [PMID: 18483128] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Garber AM. A menu without prices [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:964-6. [PMID: 18483127] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Wilensky GR. Cost-effectiveness information: yes, it's important, but keep it separate, please! [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:967-8. [PMID: 18483126] LinkGoogle Scholar4. CAPRIE Steering Committee. A randomised, blinded, trial of clopidogrel versus aspirin in patients at risk of ischaemic events (CAPRIE). Lancet. 1996;348:1329-39. [PMID: 8918275] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. American Heart Association. Heart disease and stroke statistics 2004 update. Dallas, TX: American Heart Assoc; 2003:3. Google Scholar6. Davis K, Schoen C, Guterman S, Shih T, Schoenbaum SC, Weinbaum I. The Commonwealth Fund. Slowing the Growth of U.S. Health Care Expenditures: What Are the Options? New York: The Commonwealth Fund; January 2007. Publication no. 989. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Robert A. Murden, MD; Eric E. Seiber, PhDAffiliations: From Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoA Menu without Prices Alan M. Garber Cost-Effectiveness Information: Yes, It's Important, but Keep It Separate, Please! Gail R. Wilensky Information on Cost-Effectiveness: An Essential Product of a National Comparative Effectiveness ProgramAmerican College of Physicians* How Can Cost-Effectiveness Information Help Control Unsustainable Growth in U.S. Health Care Spending? Neil M. Kirschner , Stephen G. Pauker , and Joseph W. Stubbs How Can Cost-Effectiveness Information Help Control Unsustainable Growth in U.S. Health Care Spending? Arvind R. Cavale Metrics Cited byCost–Utility Analysis of Chemotherapy Regimens in Elderly Patients with Stage III Colon Cancer‘Marginal Medicine’: Targeting Comparative Effectiveness Research To Reduce Waste 6 January 2009Volume 150, Issue 1Page: 58KeywordsAspirinConflicts of interestForecastingHealth careHealth information technologyMyocardial infarctionPeripheral vascular diseaseRisk ratio ePublished: 6 January 2009 Issue Published: 6 January 2009 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2009 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...