Cost Consideration in the Clinical Guidance Documents of Physician Specialty Societies in the United States

ACC/AHA Statement on Cost/Value Methodology in Clinical Practice Guidelines and Performance Measures

“…A recent survey reported that slightly more than half of the largest US physician societies explicitly consider costs in developing their guideline documents, although their approach remains vague. 3 The authors concluded by recommending greater transparency and rigor in the approach to cost consideration in guideline documents from medical societies going forward.…”

Placing a Value on New Technologies

“…Until recently, clinical practice guidelines rarely incorporated cost into their recommendations. 15 Similarly, legislation often has not allowed the consideration of cost in coverage decisions, requiring that a new technology be covered if it is "reasonable and necessary." 16 However, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association are increasingly considering cost and value in their guidelines, appropriate use criteria, and performance measures.…”

Sedative-Hypnotic Medicines and Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cost-Effectiveness (Decision-Tree) Analysis from a US Medicare Perspective

“…The consideration of costs is increasingly being used as an incentive to guide changes in clinical practice decisions [16]; however, initiatives to reduce spending have thus far failed to address the issue of drug-induced falls attributable to psychiatric medication in the elderly. Data are lacking on the relative cost effectiveness of non-pharmacological versus pharmacological treatment strategies for managing insomnia in the elderly.…”