Hendriks Saskia, Pearson Steven D
Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Institute for Clinical & Economic Review, Boston, MA 02109, USA.
J Comp Eff Res. 2021 Mar 5;10(4):255-65. doi: 10.2217/cer-2020-0190.
Assessing the 'value' of potential cures can be challenging, as some have suggested that cures may offer distinctive benefits from noncurative treatments. We explore what these - previously unspecified - additional benefits may be. We suggest that three new elements of value seem distinctive to cures: liberation from the identity of being diseased, liberation from the stigma associated with the disease and liberation from the burden of ongoing therapy. However, including additional elements of value in health technology assessment may result in double counting and requires consideration of potential opportunity costs. We suggest health technology assessment should explore the relevance of these three elements of value and may have good reasons to - judiciously - integrate them through the deliberative process.
评估潜在治愈方法的“价值”可能具有挑战性，因为有人认为治愈方法可能会带来与非治愈性治疗不同的益处。我们探讨这些（以前未明确指出的）额外益处可能是什么。我们认为，治愈方法似乎具有三个独特的价值新要素：从患病身份中解放出来、摆脱与疾病相关的污名以及摆脱持续治疗的负担。然而，在卫生技术评估中纳入额外的价值要素可能会导致重复计算，并且需要考虑潜在的机会成本。我们建议卫生技术评估应探讨这三个价值要素的相关性，并且可能有充分的理由——审慎地——通过审议过程将它们整合起来。
