Patient-Centered Cost Outcomes—Addressing a Gap in Value Assessment
By Xcenda
Xcenda, in support of the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC), released an issue brief on the need to further consider patient cost outcomes, building off of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s (PCORI) approved proposed principles for the consideration of the full range of outcomes data for public comment.
The goal of these principles is to outline PCORI’s compliance with its reauthorization legislation, which states that, in addition to clinical outcomes, research should also endeavor to capture patient-important outcomes that assess the economic burden of treatments and services. While clinical effectiveness is still the priority, cost outcomes from the patient perspective are a reality that sometimes gets left behind. Xcenda conducted a targeted literature review in September 2020 to better understand how patient-important cost outcomes were considered in published studies.
Key findings from the literature review include:
- Patient preferences of economic burden outcomes are understudied in the literature
- Economic burden outcomes are often excluded from preference studies, and when they are reported, they are often assessed using a single catchall “cost” outcome
- More patient preference research is necessary to consider the full range of outcomes important to patients, including those that take affordability and economic impact into consideration
- Patients may prioritize economic burden outcomes differently based on a variety of factors, and their economic outcome preferences may factor into their treatment decisions
- Although treatment effectiveness and safety are major drivers behind treatment selection, economic burden also plays a major role in the decision-making process
Cost outcomes were not reported clearly or consistently in the literature and clear guidance for their identification and collection are necessary moving forward. More research is needed to identify a full range of outcomes important to patients, including economic impacts. Further research by PCORI may help to fill some of these evidence gaps and facilitate more informed healthcare treatment decision making.
Download the published issue brief below.
