| Title | How can the impact of health technology assessments be enhanced? |
| Publication Type | Book |
| Year of Publication | 2008 |
| Authors | Sorenson C, Drummond M, Børlum Kristensen F, Busse R |
| Secondary Authors | Permanand G, Figueras J, Lavis J, McDaid D, Mossialos E |
| Series Title | Policy brief |
| Number of Pages | 35 p. |
| Publisher | WHO Regional Office for Europe |
| City | Copenhagen |
| Keywords | Delivery of health Care; Europe; Health Policy; Technology Assessment, Biomedical |
| Abstract | Key messages
Policy issues
• Health technology assessment (HTA) is an important tool for informing effective regulation of the diffusion and use of health technologies.
• The key policy issues surrounding the use of HTA fall into three areas: (a) the bodies, decision-makers and other stakeholders involved, (b) the methods and processes employed; and (c) how the findings of HTAs are implemented.
• The impact of HTA can be enhanced if: key stakeholders (e.g. patients, providers and industry) are adequately involved; decision-makers give a prior commitment to use assessment reports (and assessments meet their needs); the necessary resources are available for implementing decisions; there is transparency in the assessment and decision-making processes; and collaboration, knowledge and skills are transferred across jurisdictions.
Policy measures
• Increased stakeholder involvement throughout the HTA process can help capture and improve the real-world value and applicability of HTAs. Nevertheless, stakeholder involvement needs to be transparent and well- managed in order to ensure that the objectivity of assessments is not influenced.
• HTAs must be timely in relation to the decisions they seek to inform. Simpler studies, early-warning systems and conditional approvals are increasingly being used to manage the uncertainty surrounding new and emerging technologies while facilitating the timeliness and relevancy of HTA.
• International collaboration among HTA bodies can facilitate the development of methods and more efficient assessment processes, and facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity-building in less established HTA systems and programmes.
• To facilitate the use and implementation of HTA reports in decision- making, incentives within a given health care system must be appropriately aligned with the decisions that are based on (or informed by) HTA. |
| URL | http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/73225/E93420.pdf |
