Health technology assessment and innovation: here to help or hinder?

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Health Technology Assessment
• Innovation Management

Background:

• Innovative health technologies present challenges for policymakers due to evidence, cost, and adoption concerns.
• Current health technology assessment (HTA) frameworks often overlook innovation by prioritizing therapeutic value and cost-savings.
• Inconsistent definitions and evaluations of innovation within HTA hinder its recognition and incentivization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how health technology assessment (HTA) can be adapted to better foster innovation in healthcare.
• To identify innovative policy approaches and HTA tools to support the integration of new health technologies.
• To discuss the potential of HTA to drive innovation, particularly in the Asia region.

Main Methods:

• Review of traditional health technology assessment (HTA) frameworks and their limitations in evaluating innovation.
• Discussion of alternative HTA tools, including horizon scanning and multicriteria decision analysis.
• Exploration of novel funding mechanisms like managed agreements and coverage with evidence development.

Main Results:

• Explicitly defining and valuing innovation within HTA is crucial for incentivizing future advancements.
• Shifting the focus from cost-savings to investment in health technology can yield significant benefits.
• Innovative HTA approaches are needed to support technologies like genomics, point-of-care testing, and digital health.

Conclusions:

• Policy and HTA must evolve to effectively support and incentivize health technology innovation.
• Utilizing a broader range of HTA tools and innovative funding models is essential for successful technology adoption.
• Fostering innovation through adapted HTA can lead to improved patient outcomes and more dynamic health systems.