The importance of patient involvement in assessing the value of medications is increasingly recognized, but are patients provided the tools they need to participate meaningfully in the health technology assessment process? To better understand the unmet needs and key considerations for plain language summaries of health economic publications to support patient involvement in health technology assessment, Emma Harvey and co-authors conducted a review of the literature and interviews with patient experts and health economists.
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Our research identified important challenges in communicating health economic data to patients and other non-experts involved in health technology assessment. In speaking about the potential benefits of plain language summaries, one of our patient interviewees commented – “It levels the playing field, and puts everyone on an equal footing so patients can speak with authority on what they have read” – which really stood out for us as an important goal