Back to Journals » Orthopedic Research and Reviews » Volume 4
![Highly-accessed](assets/img/article_icons/highly-accessed.png)
Socioeconomic value of orthopedic devices: evidence and methodological challenges
Authors Sorenson C, Drummond M
Received 31 March 2012
Accepted for publication 8 May 2012
Published 25 October 2012 Volume 2012:4 Pages 87—96
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/ORR.S32453
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 2
Corinna Sorenson,1,2 Michael Drummond2,3
1LSE Health, London School of Economics, London, UK; 2European Health Technology Institute for Socioeconomic Research, Brussels, Belgium; 3Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK
Abstract: With continued technological advances in orthopedic devices and increasingly limited health care resources, greater attention will be placed on substantiating the socioeconomic value of these devices. Therefore, this study focused on a systematic review of available economic evaluations of selected orthopedic devices (n = 33 studies) to assess their impact on different clinical and economic outcomes. The existing evidence suggests that they have important benefits to patients, including reduced risk of fractures, increased mobility and functioning, and enhanced quality of life, and do so cost effectively or with cost savings. However, we have identified several methodological obstacles to sufficient ascertainment of value, such as a lack of robust information on health economic outcomes and long-term evidence. We also identify areas where additional research is needed to assess more fully the value of orthopedic devices.
Keywords: medical devices, orthopedics, health economic evaluation
© 2012 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The
full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php
and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution
- Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.
By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted
without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly
attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.