ICYMI: Avalere and FasterCures develop new value framework from patient perspective

In case you missed it, a year-long collaboration between Avalere and FasterCures has resulted in the first value framework from the patient perspective. Unlike other frameworks which include limited input from patients or other stakeholders, the Patient-Perspective Value Framework (PPVF) initiative was a true collaboration led by a steering committee of 23 organizations, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The steering committee took into consideration input from 270 people and organizations across the health care system in the form of targeted surveys, focus groups and roundtable discussions. Notably, more than 80 percent of that input came directly from patients.

The PPVF initiative compiled a list of specific outcomes that matter to patients when making treatment decisions—like symptom relief, complexity of regimen, out-of-pocket costs and functional and cognitive status—and weighted them according to assessed patient preferences. These outcomes were grouped within five patient-centered domains (Patient Preferences, Patient-Centered Outcomes, Patient and Family Costs, Usability and Transparency and Quality and Applicability of Evidence). Together, the domains and patient-centered outcomes provide a framework for understanding value to patients, which aligns closely with PhRMA’s Principles for Value Assessment.

Going forward, the committee will be working with other framework developers to ensure the continued inclusion of patient-centric approaches to defining, measuring and assessing value. In addition to working with existing framework developers, such as the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, American Society of Clinical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the PPVF initiative also plans to translate its framework into tools that can be used by patients and physicians to help guide treatment decisions.

As part of PhRMA’s policy solutions for delivering innovative treatments to patients, we reiterate our belief that well-designed tools for value assessment can ease the way for a move toward a value-driven health care system. We are proud to be a part of the PPVF initiative to support the development of well-designed tools to empower health care decision-making and ensure the right treatments reach the right patients at the right time.

Read more about the PPVF initiative in a Health Affairs blog post from Avalere and FasterCures here.