Sunday, August 23, 2015

AASLD/IDSA Update - HCV guidance for Cost, Reimbursement and Cost-Effectiveness Considerations



The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), in partnership with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and in collaboration with the International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA), created Recommendations for Testing, Managing, and Treating Hepatitis C in 2014. an online living document with ever evolving guidelines to aid practitioners treating patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). An update to the HCV guidance for Cost, Reimbursement and Cost-Effectiveness Considerations was recently published online, here.

OVERVIEW OF COST, REIMBURSEMENT, AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS CONSIDERATIONS FOR HEPATITIS C TREATMENT REGIMENS
The Hepatitis C Guidance describes how to diagnose, link to care, and treat most groups of patients with HCV. (AASLD/IDSA/IAS-USA, 2015) However, a common challenge is reduced access to treatment caused by restrictions on drug reimbursement. This section summarizes the US payer system, explains the concepts of cost, price, cost-effectiveness, value, and affordability, and reviews current evidence of the cost-effectiveness of strategies to improve access to treatment. Although these may sound similar and are often confused, the following discussion will seek to clarify these terms with regard to HCV therapy. To be clear, this section is informational. As explained below, actual costs are rarely known. Accordingly, the HCV Guidance does not utilize cost-effectiveness analysis to guide recommendations at this time.

Continue reading, here.... 

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