PICCOTEAM: A Checklist for Empowering Researchers in Economic Evaluation of Precision Medicine

Author: Natcha Kongkam

02 May 2025 28 0

Introducing PICCOTEAM, a new tool designed to guide researchers and reviewers in conducting economic evaluations (EE) of Precision Medicine (PM). Developed by the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program Foundation (HITAP) in collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS), this innovative checklist addresses unique challenges of evaluating complex and rapidly evolving PM technologies, which are not addressed by generic reference cases.

The PICCOTEAM framework was developed after three years of review of existing literature and expert consultations. It offers a comprehensive approach across nine key domains: Patient Population, Intervention, Comparator, Cost, Outcome, Timeframe, Ethics & Equity, Adaptability, and Modelling Methods. This evidence-based framework ensures rigorous, consistent assessments of the value of PM technologies.

The tool has also been piloted to assess the cost-effectiveness of cascade testing of Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) in Thailand, comparing established whole-exome sequencing (WES) versus developing long-read sequencing (LRS). PICCOTEAM seeks to support evidence-informed decision-making and enhance the integration of precision medicine into healthcare policy and practice.

Access the PICCOTEAM Checklist here: http://piccoteam.gear4health.com/

For a tutorial on how to use the tool, watch our Precision Medicine Reference Case (PM-RC) Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BQZ_LbWMSk

Additional resources:

Frontiers | Mapping the value for money of precision medicine: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Assessing the cost-effectiveness of precision medicine: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis | BMJ Open

Acknowledgements

PICCOTEAM has been developed by Wenjia Chen, PhD1, Yue Zhang, MSc1, Wang Yi, PhD1, Dimple Haresh Butani, MPH2, Yot Teerawattananon, MD, PhD1,2 and “WorkingGroup