Will Technologies Like AI And Machine Learning Help Bring Down Drug Prices Globally?

A ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES MAY HELP REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS OVER TIME, BUT THEY WILL NOT BE A PANACEA. Costs are a holistic issue across all of healthcare, requiring holistic approaches. For example, how should we assess the value for what we spend on drugs vs. other components of healthcare? Effective drugs for HIV or hepatitis C, or for preventing cardiac events or strokes, save costs of other components of healthcare and contribute to societal productivity. Conversely, do we get more value from paying, say, $25,000 more for a surgical procedure at one U.S. hospital vs. another one across town? And, how do we assess whether the U.S. is paying too much, or other countries too little, or both?

RON COHEN, M.D. is president, CEO, and founder of Acorda Therapeutics, a biotech developing therapies for spinal cord injury, MS, and other nervous system disorders.