[Health technology assessment (HTA). Developments in healthcare and potential for radiology]

Cost-intensive measures and procedures, such as also employed in radiology, have far-reaching economic implications in respect to increasing expenditure with limited resources.

Health technology assessment (HTA) describes the systematic evaluation of medical procedures and technologies which in recent years has been introduced by many countries into healthcare politics.

In many cases HTA analyses can be directly implemented into practice as shown by the examples given in this article; however, in the current form of HTA the practical implementation for radiology often presents the problem that the cost-benefit ratio does not yet have a comprehensive view in the HTA report but is limited to a subsection, e.g. current costs versus sensitivity of a method. Since its inception radiology has had a high power of innovation and new developments will also substantially determine the future years. These procedures must not only be evaluated with respect to feasibility but also in the sense of the HTA in the total concept.

In radiology there are also a large number of possibilities for radiologists not only as passive consumers of HTA reports but also to become active participants in this process, an opportunity which should be taken advantage of.