Innovative payment schemes 'preferable to discounts'

Innovative payment schemes should be a top priority for governments and pharma companies, suggests a new study of European payer opinion.

The survey, carried out by Mundipharma and published in  Health Policy journal, found that 85% of European healthcare payers prefer bespoke pricing agreements — which may take into account clinical outcomes versus a competitor, or quality of life improvements — to straightforward price discounts.

The survey of 66 payers from across Europe indicated payers found innovative agreements preferable to a simple discount under specific circumstances, such as offering a greater reduction in total cost or more effectively managing uncertainty. This held true in each each surveyed country (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK).