2010 Health Technology Summit

  

See Video Overview of Summit 

Healthcare economists and policy professionals, medtech industry leaders, academic partners, and clinical professionals met on April 7 at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel for InHealth’s 2010 Health Technology Summit. The summit focused on the unique contributions of advanced technologies to the new healthcare economy, with special emphasis on the role of medical technology in:

• Reshaping the economics and design of modern healthcare delivery
• Improving the health and productivity of human capital

In debates over reform, rising healthcare costs are frequently attributed to the stream of innovative technologies that continuously reshape the settings and procedures of modern medical care. Yet few analyses have so far penetrated beyond the realms of cost equations and medical risk, or weighed the gains of technology-enabled care against the costs of its denial.

At InHealth’s 2010 Health Technology Summit, experts in the field of healthcare economics and policy research examined new strategies for understanding the value of medical technologies in today’s healthcare settings—and making the most of emerging technologies in the healthcare systems of the future.

Summit Agenda

Welcome and Introductions  (see video of this session) 

Martyn W. C. Howgill (see video interview)
Executive Director
Institute for Health Technology Studies

 

Robert J. Rubin, MD (see video interview)
Conference Chair
Clinical Professor of Medicine, Georgetown University
Member, InHealth Board of Directors
Chair, InHealth Research Council

 

Session I: Medtech Innovation in a Reformed Delivery System 
Debates over healthcare reform have highlighted the importance of changes in payment mechanisms for healthcare providers and in the organization and delivery of care. Greater efficiency in healthcare delivery requires not only incentives for improved efficiency but also enabling technologies and processes of care. This keynote address will discuss payment reform options and how they are likely to affect rewards for medtech innovation. (see video of this session) 

 

Alan M. Garber, MD, PhD (see video interview)
Director, Center for Health Policy and Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research
Henry J. Kaiser Jr. Professor of Medicine
Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Stanford University  

 

Session II: Option and Effect: Healthcare Delivery and the Value of Medical Technologies 
In recent decades, medical technologies have played an important role in transforming the practice of medicine throughout the world—but at a cost that some consider prohibitive. In this session, three experts in health policy and economics discuss proposed approaches to reforming healthcare delivery, how they might affect the future of medical technology, and how medical technology can contribute to a more efficient healthcare system. (see video of this session) 

Moderator
Robert J. Rubin, MD
Georgetown University

Speakers
Mark V. Pauly, PhD
Bendheim Professor of Health Care Management, Business and Public
   Policy, Insurance and Risk Management, and Economics
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania

Tom Wildsmith 
Consulting Actuary
The Hay Group

 

Luncheon Address
Controlling Technology: Are Insurers Ready? 
With the results of comparative effectiveness research in hand, incentive structures could theoretically be used to lead patients and physicians toward healthier lifestyles and sounder medical decisions. But would a private insurance plan that embodied such messages really be a best seller—in either today’s private insurance market or in some future reformed market? In this luncheon address, Dr. Pauly discusses whether buyers of insurance—whether employers or individuals—will be attracted to a plan that covers and pays for technology in new and different ways. Observations about the regulatory and patent policy issues raised by such plans will round out the discussion. (see video of this session)

Mark V. Pauly, PhD
University of Pennsylvania 

 

Session III: The Economic Implications of Comparative Effectiveness Research 
For many healthcare policy experts—domestic and international—comparative effectiveness research (CER) has become the tool of choice for reforming healthcare. With more than $1 billion already invested to support such research, U.S. healthcare agencies are lining up to contribute their efforts—but to what effect? This session examines the economic implications of using CER results as a basis for healthcare policy, including the impact of market and reimbursement responses on outcomes and costs. (see video of this session) 

Tomas J. Philipson, PhD (see video interview)
Daniel Levin Professor of Public Policy Studies
Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago 

 

Session IV: Methods for Medtech: Taming Comparative Effectiveness Research and Other Challenges 
Comparative effectiveness research promises valuable insights to guide clinical decision-making, but it’s not the only method available to researchers who are seeking to develop a foundation for new-generation healthcare policies. In this quick-moving session, three experts in healthcare reimbursement, policy, and economics look at new trends in the field, and what they mean for the future of medical technologies. Presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion. (see video of this session) 

Moderator
Robert J. Rubin, MD
Georgetown University

Speakers
Peter J. Neumann, ScD (see video interview)
Director, Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health
Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies
Tufts University

Stephen J. Northrup
Principal
Podesta Group 

 

Session V: State of the Profession: Medtech Economics in a Rapidly Changing Environment 
Previous sessions have focused on how the results of health economics and policy research are used in making clinical and policy decisions. The purpose of this interactive session is to engage stakeholders from throughout the healthcare sector in a discussion about the pace and direction of such research, with special reference to the themes raised in earlier sessions. Attendees will take part in a moderated discussion about how best to stimulate future research on the economic relevance and unique contributions of medical technologies, and how to disseminate the results of such research to effectively inform clinicians, payers, and policymakers. (see video of this session) 

Moderator
Amalia M. Issa, PhD, MPH (see video interview)
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Administration & Public Health
Associate Professor of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Director, Program in Personalized Genomic Medicine and Targeted Therapeutics
College of Pharmacy
University of Houston

Speakers
Stephen T. Parente, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Finance
Director, Medical Industry Leadership Institute
Carlson School of Management 
University of Minnesota 

Robert Rubin, MD
Georgetown University

Summary and Closing Remarks 

Robert J. Rubin, MD
Georgetown University

Martyn W. C. Howgill
Institute for Health Technology Studies

 

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