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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2021; 42(05): 479-483
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1740536
Policy Brief

Application of Health Technology Assessment for Oncology Care in India: Implications for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana

Nidhi Gupta 
1   Department of Radiation Oncology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India
,
Gaurav Jyani 
2   Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
,
Kavitha Rajsekar
3   Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi
,
Rakesh Gupta
4   Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India, New Delhi
,
Anu Nagar
3   Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi
,
Praveen Gedam
5   National Health Authority, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi
,
Shankar Prinja
2   Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
› Author Affiliations Sources of Support No support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs was obtained to prepare this manuscript.
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Abstract

A health system is considered efficient when it provides maximum health gains to the population from the available resources. Newer drugs, diagnostics and treatment strategies aim to improve the health of the population, however, they come at an increased cost. Therefore, for an efficient health system, it needs to be decided if the extra cost being incurred is justified to achieve the extra health gains. In this regard, health technology assessment (HTA) helps to make evidence informed decisions by evaluating relative cost and benefits of the available interventions. Economic evidence generated by HTA can also be used in framing standard treatment guidelines (STGs) for high-cost cancer care. In multi-payer systems like India, the decisions regarding the clinical management of patients are taken based on the patients' ability to pay, which creates inequities in utilization of healthcare. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) offers an opportunity to ensure equity as it reduces financial barriers, besides having a potential to affect efficiency by including only cost-effective interventions in the benefit package. As a result, informed clinical decisions based upon HTA evidence can make cancer treatment more efficient, equitable and affordable for the patients.

Keywords

cost-effectiveness - health economics - health insurance - Health Technology Assessment - medical oncology - priority setting - universal health coverage

Author Declaration

The manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors. All the authors meet the requirements for authorship, and each author believes that the manuscript represents honest work.




Publication History

Article published online:
10 December 2021

© 2021. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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