{"title":"Diverse structures and methods of national health technology assessment organizations: A scoping review","authors":"Celina Borges Migliavaca , Verônica Colpani , Miriam Allein Zago Marcolino , Maicon Falavigna , Carisi Anne Polanczyk","doi":"10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To explore the structure and methods of health technology assessment (HTA) organizations.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We included organizations that conduct HTA to inform coverage/reimbursement decisions nationally in any country. Eligible organizations were identified through a systematic search of well-known HTA networks (International Network for Agencies for HTA [INAHTA], European Network for Health Technology Assessment [EUnetHTA], <em>Red de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud de las Americas</em> [RedETSA], HTAsiaLink) and references from previous studies evaluating HTA organizations.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We identified 69 organizations, from 56 countries. Most organizations are European (<em>n</em> = 39, 56 %) and governmental (<em>n</em> = 53, 77 %). Fifty-one (74 %) advise health authorities, while 13 (19 %) are the ultimate decision-making authority. Of 62 organizations with known funding, all use public resources, and 12 (17 %) charge a fee for evaluation. Healthcare technologies evaluated are medicines (<em>n</em> = 61, 88 %), devices (<em>n</em> = 47, 68 %), and procedures (<em>n</em> = 33, 48 %). Sixty-six organizations (96 %) consider economic factors, with cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses being the most conducted evaluations. HTA is usually initiated upon the manufacturer's request (<em>n</em> = 45, 65 %). Patient involvement is not clearly described in 32 organizations (46 %), and 2 (3 %) report no involvement; among the remaining, for most (<em>n</em> = 29, 42 %), the role of patients is to provide information to be considered during the decision-making process.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our results underscore the diverse landscape of HTA organizations, highlighting both shared methodologies and unique adaptations, a knowledge that is valuable for countries looking to establish or refine their HTA organizations.</div></div><div><h3>Lay summary</h3><div>Health technology assessment (HTA) is crucial for guiding healthcare decisions and policies around the world. We analyzed 69 organizations from 56 countries that use HTA to inform national coverage and reimbursement decisions. These organizations, primarily government-affiliated, advise on which healthcare technologies—like medications and medical devices—should be funded based mainly on their effectiveness and cost. Despite their common goals, we found significant variation in how they operate, especially in the criteria they use to make recommendations and how they involve stakeholders. Understanding these global practices helps countries improving their own HTA processes, ensuring better healthcare outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48672,"journal":{"name":"Health Policy and Technology","volume":"14 3","pages":"Article 101009"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Health Policy and Technology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211883725000371","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
To explore the structure and methods of health technology assessment (HTA) organizations.
Methods
We included organizations that conduct HTA to inform coverage/reimbursement decisions nationally in any country. Eligible organizations were identified through a systematic search of well-known HTA networks (International Network for Agencies for HTA [INAHTA], European Network for Health Technology Assessment [EUnetHTA], Red de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud de las Americas [RedETSA], HTAsiaLink) and references from previous studies evaluating HTA organizations.
Results
We identified 69 organizations, from 56 countries. Most organizations are European (n = 39, 56 %) and governmental (n = 53, 77 %). Fifty-one (74 %) advise health authorities, while 13 (19 %) are the ultimate decision-making authority. Of 62 organizations with known funding, all use public resources, and 12 (17 %) charge a fee for evaluation. Healthcare technologies evaluated are medicines (n = 61, 88 %), devices (n = 47, 68 %), and procedures (n = 33, 48 %). Sixty-six organizations (96 %) consider economic factors, with cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses being the most conducted evaluations. HTA is usually initiated upon the manufacturer's request (n = 45, 65 %). Patient involvement is not clearly described in 32 organizations (46 %), and 2 (3 %) report no involvement; among the remaining, for most (n = 29, 42 %), the role of patients is to provide information to be considered during the decision-making process.
Conclusions
Our results underscore the diverse landscape of HTA organizations, highlighting both shared methodologies and unique adaptations, a knowledge that is valuable for countries looking to establish or refine their HTA organizations.
Lay summary
Health technology assessment (HTA) is crucial for guiding healthcare decisions and policies around the world. We analyzed 69 organizations from 56 countries that use HTA to inform national coverage and reimbursement decisions. These organizations, primarily government-affiliated, advise on which healthcare technologies—like medications and medical devices—should be funded based mainly on their effectiveness and cost. Despite their common goals, we found significant variation in how they operate, especially in the criteria they use to make recommendations and how they involve stakeholders. Understanding these global practices helps countries improving their own HTA processes, ensuring better healthcare outcomes.
期刊介绍:
Health Policy and Technology (HPT), is the official journal of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine (FPM), a cross-disciplinary journal, which focuses on past, present and future health policy and the role of technology in clinical and non-clinical national and international health environments.
HPT provides a further excellent way for the FPM to continue to make important national and international contributions to development of policy and practice within medicine and related disciplines. The aim of HPT is to publish relevant, timely and accessible articles and commentaries to support policy-makers, health professionals, health technology providers, patient groups and academia interested in health policy and technology.
Topics covered by HPT will include:
- Health technology, including drug discovery, diagnostics, medicines, devices, therapeutic delivery and eHealth systems
- Cross-national comparisons on health policy using evidence-based approaches
- National studies on health policy to determine the outcomes of technology-driven initiatives
- Cross-border eHealth including health tourism
- The digital divide in mobility, access and affordability of healthcare
- Health technology assessment (HTA) methods and tools for evaluating the effectiveness of clinical and non-clinical health technologies
- Health and eHealth indicators and benchmarks (measure/metrics) for understanding the adoption and diffusion of health technologies
- Health and eHealth models and frameworks to support policy-makers and other stakeholders in decision-making
- Stakeholder engagement with health technologies (clinical and patient/citizen buy-in)
- Regulation and health economics