[Rapid assessments"--quick evaluation of medical technology]

Assessing the clinical, economical and other consequences of medical technologies (health technology assessment, HTA) is an important instrument to support decisions in many health care systems. A comprehensive HTA, however, is time-consuming and costly while, on the other hand, decisions have to be made quickly. A number of international HTA programmes established rapid assessment tracks although they are variable in scope and methods. In the first part of this paper, these programmes were compared with respect to scope, methods and time to complete assessments. It can be shown from this comparison that there is no common definition of "rapid assessments". In the second part of the paper, a model for processing rapid assessment in the German context is introduced and discussed. The model aims at rapid assessments serving the needs of German decision-makers and ensuring high scientific quality at the same time. The model consists of a modular system that is tailored to the actual demand of the decision-maker. Modules are obligatory (such as a systematic literature search) or optional (such as meta-analysis). All modules are subject to standardisation as far as possible. However, it should be kept in mind that a close collaboration between commissioners and executives of an HTA is necessary to focus on the question and work out the HTA accordingly.