DEVICEMAKERS CAN AVOID BLAME FOR INFLATED COSTS WITH NEW COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Device and diagnostics makers can avoid being blamed for inflated healthcare costs by focusing on competitive strategies that add value to their products, experts say.
A "medical arms race" between hospital systems to acquire the latest technology is adding to the perception that device suppliers are contributing to inflated medical costs, according to former Sen. David Durenberger (R-Minn.), who serves on the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee.
The resulting pressure to control medical technology costs has led insurers to restrict access to some devices and diagnostics and inspired efforts by Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to curb Medicare spending, causing industry concern.
Durenberger's National Institute on Health Policy in Minneapolis has launched a two-year study examining the role of medical technology in healthcare cost inflation.
"If every hospital system in the community has to have one of the expensive [devices] and probably a dozen of some of the less expensive ones, at some point medical technology is going to get blamed for the escalating prices," Durenberger said in a July 24 interview on Minnesota Public Radio.
Resistance to change in the healthcare system "comes largely from the device industry, which is fearful that it will take the brunt of cost reduction," Durenberger said.
But devicemakers are not the only ones who need to change their approach in the interest of long-term sustainability of American healthcare, Durenberger said. Everyone should be seeing cost savings from "productivity" -- wherein doctors are able to complete invasive surgeries in less time thanks to new technology, he said.