VALUING LIFE: HOW SHOULD IMPLANTED CARDIAC DEFIBRILLATORS BE EVALUATED?
 

Concord, Massachusetts - Investment in implanted defibrillators is worthwhile given the value placed on a human life by Western countries.

Caro Research Institute simulated the implantation of an ICD and the patients’ subsequent course, comparing the health and economic implications to those of not implanting the device.

The health benefit gained is more than 5 times what ICD implantation costs to society. After five years, the cost-benefit ratios indicate that in the UK 17 cents and in France 14 cents would be invested per Euro of benefit. The breakeven point (where benefits equal costs) for the value of a life was €360,000 for the UK and €275,000 for France.

The results of the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) led to expansion of coverage of ICDs in the US and it is expected that eligible Medicare beneficiaries will increase by one-third, to nearly 500,000 in the first year of coverage.

The study appears in Volume 10, Issue 1 of Value in Health.

"The breakeven value estimated here suggests that investment in ICDs is worthwhile in Western societies,” said Dr. Jaime Caro. “This supports clinical arguments for a greater investment to provide wider access to this life-saving device."

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 3,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide. ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.

About ISPOR
ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.

For more information: www.ispor.org

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