Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Sep-Oct;20(5):11-29.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.20.5.11.

Is technological change in medicine worth it?

D M Cutler  1 , M McClellan
Affiliations

Is technological change in medicine worth it?

D M Cutler et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2001 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Medical technology is valuable if the benefits of medical advances exceed the costs. We analyze technological change in five conditions to determine if this is so. In four of the conditions--heart attacks, low-birthweight infants, depression, and cataracts--the estimated benefit of technological change is much greater than the cost. In the fifth condition, breast cancer, costs and benefits are about of equal magnitude. We conclude that medical spending as a whole is worth the increased cost of care. This has many implications for public policy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Useful lessons for policymakers.
    Grabowski H. Grabowski H. Health Aff (Millwood). 2001 Nov-Dec;20(6):306-7. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.20.6.306-a. Health Aff (Millwood). 2001. PMID: 11816671 No abstract available.
  • Paying for medical breakthroughs.
    Galvin R. Galvin R. Health Aff (Millwood). 2001 Nov-Dec;20(6):307-8. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.20.6.307. Health Aff (Millwood). 2001. PMID: 11816672 No abstract available.
  • The economic value of medical technology.
    Gandjour A. Gandjour A. Health Aff (Millwood). 2002 Jan-Feb;21(1):275-6. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.21.1.275. Health Aff (Millwood). 2002. PMID: 11900091 No abstract available.
  • Medical technology's impacts and costs.
    Christian J, Weissberg J. Christian J, et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2002 Jan-Feb;21(1):276-7. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.21.1.276. Health Aff (Millwood). 2002. PMID: 11900092 No abstract available.
  • The uninsured and the benefits of medical progress.
    Glied S, Little SE. Glied S, et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2003 Jul-Aug;22(4):210-9. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.4.210. Health Aff (Millwood). 2003. PMID: 12889770

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources