ADVANCES IN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY WORTH THE COST, STUDY SUGGESTS
A new study appears to support the device industry's contention that advanced technology is worth its high cost, and that reimbursement policies should reflect that value.
Although medical spending has increased over time, "the return on spending has been high" because of gains in life expectancy, according to a study in the Aug. 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Medical spending has increased at more than 10 percent per year for most of the past four decades, largely as a result of the development and widespread use of new medical techniques," said Harvard University researcher David Cutler and University of Michigan co-authors Allison Rosen and Sandeep Vijan.
But the "dramatic increase in spending has contributed to political pressure to restrain costs," when what policymakers really need to do is decide what the value of medical spending is, the researchers said.
Data suggest that 50 percent of the total gains in life expectancy between 1960 and 2000 -- including a dramatic decline in the death rate from cardiovascular events -- are linked to advancements in medical care, according to the report.