IVI Introduces Transparent Approach for Value Assessment

The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI) released its first assessment of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis using its new approach toward value assessment. NPC is still evaluating IVI’s new framework and methodology, but we are cautiously optimistic about several attributes of IVI’s approach.

Just a little over one year ago, a group of academics and other health care stakeholders came together to form the Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), aimed at developing new, rigorous methods to measure the value of a health care treatment. Today, IVI released its first assessment of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis using its new approach toward value assessment.

The National Pharmaceutical Council welcomes IVI’s contribution to value assessment and believes it’s important to have a variety of perspectives in the conversation. Just like a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for treating individual patients, one framework alone won’t be able to address all health care questions or end-user needs.

To date, a number of organizations have developed frameworks to measure value, among them the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network. All of these frameworks have different approaches, limitations and end-users, which NPC has noted in research studies or comments shared with those organizations.

NPC is still evaluating IVI’s new framework and methodology, but we are cautiously optimistic about several attributes of IVI’s approach that stand out from those of other framework developers:

  • One of the most notable differences is that the framework will be fully transparent. It will be downloadable and usable by anyone interested in testing the model; in fact, IVI encourages stakeholders to use the model to run analyses, make changes to the model, build new models with it, or create new applications or tools. IVI also plans to post code, user guides, model documentation and interactive user interfaces.
     
  • Users can adjust model parameters such as patient population, treatment prices, and other factors so decision-makers can customize the model to their individual situations.
     
  • Users also can choose between two different approaches to value assessment: a more traditional cost-effectiveness analysis approach, and a more flexible approach known as multi-criteria decision analysis.
     
  • IVI intends for its work to be fully replicated by other stakeholders. By comparison, the ICER framework is not fully transparent, making it very difficult for others to replicate its models.
     
  • In its initial value assessment of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, IVI takes a long-run approach that measures the value not only of individual treatments, but treatment sequences as well. It also includes an array of inputs valued by patients and takes a societal approach, including factors such as lost wages.

IVI plans to update the model regularly to incorporate stakeholder input and new evidence. Initial stakeholder feedback is requested by January 17, 2018 and an updated version of the model will be released later in the year.

IVI’s new approach is certain to spur more conversations about value assessment, and that’s a good thing. Feedback of all kinds will enable the field of value assessment to evolve, improve and grow, in the hope that it will better the information used by health care decision-makers.

NPC is a member of IVI’s Strategic Advisory Council and provided input in the development of IVI’s work.