The Peterson Center on Healthcare in New York City has announced the launch of the Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI), a $50 million effort to evaluate digital health technologies.

According to the center, digital health technologies have vast potential to improve U.S. health system performance by revolutionizing delivery, advancing better outcomes, enhancing the patient experience, and promoting equity. However, patients, providers, and investors have limited information about the efficacy and performance of the digital tools entering the sector.

To improve health and lower costs, PHTI will provide independent, publicly available evaluations about the efficacy and performance of those tools, by establishing an original assessment framework developed specifically for digital health tools, in partnership with the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)—a recognized leader in health economics and outcomes research. Through its evaluations, PHTI will identify and highlight the most promising new digital health innovations and expose products that are not effectively delivering their stated benefits to patients and the system.

“Technology has the power to transform health care, improving outcomes for millions of Americans, while also reducing our rapidly growing delivery costs,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which established the center in 2014. “It’s clear that digital tools and artificial intelligence can provide a range of benefits to patients, but we have an inadequate understanding of what works and how much it should cost. By producing independent, evidence-based research on emerging technologies, the Peterson Health Technology Institute will help improve and accelerate healthcare innovation in the United States.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Sean Anthony Eddy)