Agency for Care Effectiveness to Release 11 Drug Guidances

1.        The Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE) will publish its first tranche of 11 drug guidances from 3 May 2017. The guidances provide the public and medical professionals with an additional source of information to make informed choices on treatments that are suitable for their circumstances, as well as on the availability of government subsidies for lower to lower-middle income Singaporeans for these medications.

2.        This is part of the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s Beyond Healthcare 2020 plan, which includes increased emphasis on moving ‘beyond quality to value’. Our aim is to provide care, with the same, or better outcomes, more cost effectively. The drug guidances are established through a Health Technology Assessment (HTA), which is an internationally accepted scientific methodology used to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of new technologies. The guidances will include:  

            1.    The clinical criteria for appropriate use;
            2.    The cost effective use of the drugs;
            3.    A summary of the key evidence considered by the Drug Advisory Committee (DAC)’s in deciding on the provision of subsidies for the drugs.  

3.        ACE will release tranches of drug guidances regularly. The first tranche of drug guidance topics can be found in Annex A. The drug guidances can be found at www.ace-hta.gov.sg. 

Role of ACE

4.        Advancements in medicine and healthcare technology offer new opportunities and potential for healthcare in Singapore. We want to keep abreast with developments, so that we can introduce new solutions that are clinically effective and cost-efficient, in order to improve healthcare outcomes and quality of life for patients.

5.        ACE was established by MOH in August 2015 with the aim of establishing the relative value of technologies through HTA. These evaluations equip policy makers with objective and credible evidence to guide decisions on healthcare treatments and subsidies, including drugs, medical devices and services. In addition, ACE’s work will help healthcare institutions, doctors and patients in Singapore make better-informed decisions on tests and treatments appropriate for their conditions. 

Drug Guidances

6.        The drugs selected for evaluation are decided in consultation with the public healthcare institutions, based on the clinical need, the reach, and severity of the condition under evaluation. The industry is also engaged, to establish the cost-effectiveness of the drug (i.e. value-based pricing).

7.        The evidence in ACE’s evaluations is subsequently presented to the MOH DAC for deliberation. The DAC recommends whether a drug should receive subsidy based on considerations such as patient need, clinical and cost-effectiveness.

8.        The publication of the guidances increases the level of transparency of decision-making, and is consistent with practices adopted by other HTA agencies internationally, including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC-Australia) and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE-UK).

9.        Director of Medical Services, A/Prof Benjamin Ong, said, “While medical technology has enabled us to live longer and better, such improvements have almost always resulted in rising healthcare costs. ACE’s work is critical to enable the identification of treatments with good outcomes at affordable price points for our patients. This will help ensure that our healthcare system remains both effective as well as sustainable for future generations.”

10.       Patients can consult their doctors on the drug guidances to make better-informed treatment choices that are appropriate for their condition.

ANNEX A
First tranche of ACE Guidances