ECRI, LSE partner for medical device pricing study

The ECRI Institute said earlier this month it inked a partnership deal with the London School of Economics and Political Science’s LSE Health and Social Care group.

The Plymouth Meeting, Penn.-based institute said both groups will collaborate on a project that seeks to examine medical device pricing across different countries.

“Reducing costs in the healthcare system is critically important for hospitals and health systems worldwide. We anticipate that our partnership with LSE will yield the kind of research results that are needed to make device pricing more transparent,” ECRI European operations veep David Watson said in prepared remarks.

The ECRI Institute said medical device costs account for 6 to 7% of total health expenditure in the U.S. and European countries, yet not much is known about the factors that determine prices. Anecdotal evidence suggests that device prices may vary significantly between individual buyers and countries, the institute said.

In January, the ECRI Institute released a top 10 watch list for innovations that are “molding the landscape of healthcare in 2016 and beyond,” placing mobile stroke units, medical device cybersecurity and wireless wearable sensors at the top.

The list is meant to highlight important new or emerging issues in healthcare with intentions of improving safety and cost effectiveness, the ECRI Institute said.

Mobile stroke units topped the list, which are specialized ambulance vehicles designed specifically for treating stroke victims. Below that, medical device cybersecurity, which saw quite a lot of press in 2015, and wireless wearable sensors took the 2nd and 3rd slot. Miniature leadless pacemakers took 4th on the institute’s list.

Also included were blue-violet LED light fixtures, which aim to prevent healthcare infections, high-cost cardiovascular drugs, changes in the landscape of robotic surgery, spectral computed tomography, injected bioabsorbable hydrogel and warm donor organ perfusion systems.

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