Transferability of economic evaluations of medical technologies: a new technology for orthopedic surgery

Abstract

Transferring results of economic evaluations across countries or jurisdictions can potentially save scarce evaluation resources while helping to make market access and reimbursement decisions in a timely fashion. This article points out why transferring results of economic evaluations is particularly important in the field of medical technologies. It then provides an overview of factors that are previously identified in the literature as affecting transferability of economic evaluations, as well as methods for transferring results in a scientifically sound way. As the current literature almost exclusively relates to transferability of pharmacoeconomic evaluations, this article highlights those factors and methodologies that are of particular relevance to transferring medical technology assessments. Considering the state-of-the-art literature and a worked, real life, example of transferring an economic evaluation of a product used in orthopedic surgery, we provide recommendations for future work in this important area of medical technology assessment.

Keywords::

• economic evaluation
• fibrin sealant
• medical technology
• medical technology assessment
• orthopedic surgery
• transferability

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Philippe Bastide and Sheri Dodd of Ethicon, Inc., for their valuable inputs to the fibrin sealant modeling studies and allowing us to use those analyses as an exemplar to illustrate this review paper.

Financial disclosure

The modeling study regarding fibrin sealant that has been used as an exemplar for this expert review, results from a scientific collaboration between MATCH and Ethicon, Inc.

Funds have been received from Ethicon, Inc. for the fibrin sealant modeling study; not for this transferability Special Report. The received funds are directed solely to MATCH. None of the authors has received or will receive benefits for personal or professional use from any commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this paper. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.