Newswise — The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth) has issued a request for proposals to generate original, independent research examining the overall economic impact of medical technology. Three, one-year grants totaling $750,000 will be awarded to investigators.

InHealth, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit research and educational organization, seeks to fund studies that address questions about the value that society receives from its spending on medical technology and how that value may be accounted for in calculations of rising health care costs, medical technology assessments and other complex economic analyses.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, about half of all growth in health care spending in the last several decades was associated with changes in medical care made possible by advances in technology.1 Although information exists about the costs of specific technologies, there is less data about the value added by medical technology, such as reducing health care costs through shorter lengths of stay, fewer disabilities and increasing economic productivity and GDP.

InHealth Executive Director Martyn Howgill said findings from InHealth-funded research will generate needed information about medical technology innovation for health policy experts. This is timely, Howgill added, as the new administration pushes for comprehensive health care reform and as $1.1 billion of the approved economic stimulus plan will go toward comparing the effectiveness of various drugs, medical devices and diagnostic technologies.

"With a new president committed to health care reform, policy discussions must balance ever-increasing medical capabilities with growing demand and soaring costs," said Howgill. "We don't have a good grip on how advances in technology and shifting population requirements can work together to bring the best care to every American."

To date, InHealth has funded research focused on the impact of various diagnostics and medical devices on mortality, morbidity, disability, and cost, as well as on ability to work, dependence on or independence from supportive care, and quality of life. Analyses have covered implantable defibrillators, drug-eluting stents, total knee and hip arthroscopies, MR and CT scans, in-vitro diagnostics, diabetes monitors, and "cooling caps" in neonatal care, among others.

InHealth remains interested in funding a limited number of studies to continue building a better understanding of selected advances in medical technology, such as wound care and infection control.

To date, InHealth has allocated some $5 million toward sponsored research by faculty at leading universities. Studies that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals focus on total hip and knee replacements, cardiac stents, implantable defibrillators, neonatal care and diagnostic imaging, as well as a landmark analysis of the device-development process, "from bench to bedside." InHealth's advisory Research Council " comprised of a panel of noted health care scholars and professionals " is responsible for setting the research agenda.

RFPs are due to InHealth by April 15, 2009. For more information, please visit www.inhealth.org.

About InHealth (www.inhealth.org)Launched in 2004, InHealth: The Institute for Health Technology Studies is a nonprofit research and educational organization supporting independent analyses of the economic and social effects of diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices. InHealth recently launched the next generation of its Web site , designed as a first-of-its-kind interactive community for those with an interest in medical technology innovation that provides real-time news, research and information.

1. Baker, Colin, Bruce Vavrichek and James Baumgardner. "Technological Change and the Growth of Health Care Spending." Congressional Budget Office Paper. January 2008.