Systems that fund healthcare, such as Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), face two key challenges. First, health technologies are expensive, and are getting more so. Second, people often want fast access to new technologies, sometimes even when evidence of safety, effectiveness and value for money is lacking.
Abstract:
The withdrawal or reduction of a medication or surgical technique can make healthcare safer, cheaper and more effective. However, practical and ethical challenges mean that we can't solely rely on this to ensure a fair distribution of healthcare.
