NHC Chief Medical/Scientific Officer Affinity Group Discusses Perspectives on Value Assessment

By Aimee Lee Russell, Programs Associate

The National Health Council (NHC) Chief Medical/Scientific Officer (CMSO) Affinity Group Meeting was held on October 28 in conjunction with the NHC’s Annual Science of Patient Engagement Symposium the following day.

The theme of this year’s CMSO Affinity Group meeting was Perspectives on Value Assessment. To kick the meeting off, Elisabeth Oehrlein, PhD, MS, Senior Director, Research & Programs at the NHC, highlighted recent activities and resources developed as part of the NHC’s value initiative, including case examples related to the “tug-of-war” between timelines of a value assessment, availability of evidence, and context of decision-making. This sparked a group discussion on participant experiences within the scope of a value assessment.

Next, participants heard about perspectives on value assessment from a diverse group of facilitators as part of a World Café Workshop. Facilitators included:

• Megan Coder, PharmD, MBA, Executive Director, Digital Therapeutics Alliance
• Greg Daniel, PhD, Head of U.S. Healthcare Policy Initiatives, Edwards LifeSciences
• Robert DuBois, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer & Executive Vice President, National Pharmaceutical Council
• Greg Gierer, Senior Vice President, Policy, America’s Health Insurance Plans
• Leah Howard, JD, Chief Operating Officer, National Psoriasis Foundation
• Newell McElwee, PharmD, MSPH, Vice President of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
• Eric Stanek, PharmD, Principal Scientist, Healthcore, Inc.
• C. Grace Whiting, JD, President & Chief Executive Officer, National Alliance for Caregiving

Participants were able to select which facilitators they wanted to speak with. After 15 minutes, a bell rang, and participants were asked to switch tables. In total, NHC members were able to visit three different tables. Following, discussions continued as many participants attended the Science of Patient Engagement Symposium Networking Reception.

A few key themes heard during the meeting:

• Early preparation for value assessment is key. If we plan carefully, we can have the right data available.  For example, if we get patient-focused drug development right, we will have better data for more patient-centered value assessment.
• We need to ensure the health ecosystem uses value assessment appropriately. That is, we want to move from volume to value, but the current system was not designed to accommodate value over volume. We need to work together to realign incentives.
• A value assessment produced by a value framework developer should be just one piece of evidence used to make a coverage determination.

Visit the Value Initiative section of the NHC website for more information.