Cost-Benefit Assessment in Germany
25. April 2007
Orientation by international standards
The German health care reform effective April 1, 2007, demands that the Institute for Quality and Economy in the Health Care Sector (IQWiG) follow internationally customary standards in health economics. This applies to ongoing benefit assessments and future cost-benefit assessments. At the symposium on "Cost-Benefit Assessment in the German Health Care Sector" in Berlin, Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, member of the VFA board of directors, said: "We expressly welcome the fact that the legislature now requires as part of the health care reform that the work of the IQWiG follow international standards, at least with regard to methodology. Furthermore, various groups must be comprehensively involved and the procedures must be consistently designed in a transparent manner. These are the three core items of a meaningful cost-benefit assessment."
"When conducting cost-benefit assessments, we can rely on experience from countries such as Australia, Great Britain, Sweden or Austria. We do not have to 'reinvent the wheel' or tediously gain knowledge by trial and error that has long been available in other countries. We can and should go by international benchmarks. Global development also demands a globally oriented dialog with experts across the world, based on a joint understanding of health-economic standards. From our point of view, a special German way for cost-benefit assessments would be a step back," Plischke said.
Furthermore, the member of the VFA board of directors added: "It is worth comparing international methods of cost-benefit assessment and making a balanced judgment as to what has proven effective and what hasn't. This is exactly our concern. We would like to initiate a productive discussion of the methods as a basis for the future cost-benefit assessment in Germany, which will lead to clear and generally accepted benchmarks. Therefore, we had experts within the VFA develop a specific and detailed proposal. We sent this proposal to the German Federal Ministry of Health, to the Federal Joint Committee and to the IQWIG. We would like to have a discussion based on this proposal."
Stand: 25.04.2007
"When conducting cost-benefit assessments, we can rely on experience from countries such as Australia, Great Britain, Sweden or Austria. We do not have to 'reinvent the wheel' or tediously gain knowledge by trial and error that has long been available in other countries. We can and should go by international benchmarks. Global development also demands a globally oriented dialog with experts across the world, based on a joint understanding of health-economic standards. From our point of view, a special German way for cost-benefit assessments would be a step back," Plischke said.
Furthermore, the member of the VFA board of directors added: "It is worth comparing international methods of cost-benefit assessment and making a balanced judgment as to what has proven effective and what hasn't. This is exactly our concern. We would like to initiate a productive discussion of the methods as a basis for the future cost-benefit assessment in Germany, which will lead to clear and generally accepted benchmarks. Therefore, we had experts within the VFA develop a specific and detailed proposal. We sent this proposal to the German Federal Ministry of Health, to the Federal Joint Committee and to the IQWIG. We would like to have a discussion based on this proposal."
Stand: 25.04.2007
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