Innovative Patient Involvement During Covid-19: Keeping Patients at the Heart of HTA

Area of Science:

• Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
• Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)
• Pandemic Response and Public Health Policy

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic and UK lockdown measures disrupted conventional health technology assessment (HTA) processes.
• NICE's standard HTA methods became infeasible due to public health guidance and legislation.
• There was a critical need to adapt HTA to maintain patient-centeredness amidst rapid changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the patient and public involvement (PPI) support for NICE's transition to virtual HTA meetings.
• To evaluate the experiences of patients and the public participating in virtual HTA settings.
• To identify best practices for virtual PPI in expedited and novel HTA processes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of author experiences and feedback from patient and public contributors.
• Qualitative assessment of participation in virtual HTA meetings and engagement.
• Exploration of themes related to virtual participation: accessibility, inclusivity, transparency, and group dynamics.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged from virtual participation: accessibility, inclusivity, transparency, and intrapersonal relationships/committee dynamics.
• Patient representatives actively facilitated guidance development for hypothetical technologies in expedited HTA.
• Successful adaptation of PPI strategies was crucial for maintaining patient focus during the pandemic.

Conclusions:

• Virtual engagement strategies can effectively support patient and public involvement in HTA.
• Addressing accessibility, inclusivity, transparency, and dynamics is vital for successful virtual PPI.
• Innovative PPI approaches are essential for patient-centered HTA, especially in rapid or novel contexts.