STEER: Open Access Resources for Conducting Structured Expert Elicitation for Health Care Decision Making.

Abstract

In a landscape of accelerated approvals and a less mature evidence base, constrained health systems make reimbursement decisions based on uncertain evidence about the expected clinical and economic value of a health technology. Uncertain decisions require expert judgments, and there has recently been a drive to improve the accountability and transparency in the way these judgments are collected and reported. Structured expert elicitation (SEE) refers to formal methods to quantify experts' judgments. Protocols for conducting SEE exist; however, the time and resource requirements of SEE and the lack of simple tools for its implementation are potential deterrents to its implementation. This article describes the development of Structured Expert Elicitation Resources (STEER), a collection of open access resources based on a published protocol for SEE specific to the health care decision-making (HCDM) setting. The resources cover the entire SEE process from design to reporting. The resources include an overview and a practical guide for conducting SEE in this setting, adaptable tools for building bespoke SEE exercises, training materials for experts taking part in SEE, resources used in previous SEE exercises, and examples of published SEE in HCDM. The materials cover practical considerations such as timelines team skills requirements, and administrative requirements such as contracting. The use of off-the-shelf resources can streamline the SEE process in HCDM while maintaining robustness.HighlightsThere is a drive to improve accountability and transparency in the way expert judgments are used in health care decision making; however, the time and resource requirements of SEE and the lack of simple tools for its implementation are potential deterrents to its implementation.Structured Expert Elicitation Resources (STEER) is a collection of open access resources for conducting SEE in health care decision making, based on a published methods protocol for SEE specific to this setting.The use of off-the-shelf resources can streamline the SEE process in health care decision making while maintaining robustness.