Innovating HTA: a call for capacity building and standardization

Area of Science:

• Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
• Health Economics
• Health Policy and Governance

Background:

• New health technologies emerge amid resource scarcity, necessitating efficient Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to guide decision-making.
• HTA supports equitable and affordable access to effective innovations, a critical challenge in healthcare systems.
• The Horizon2020 project focused on innovating HTA methods to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize policy-related findings from a Horizon2020 project on innovative HTA methods.
• To discuss the implications of these findings for the governance of HTA in Europe.
• To identify challenges and propose solutions for advancing HTA practices.

Main Methods:

• Thematic analysis of 18 policy-oriented papers from the Next Generation Health Technology Assessment (HTx) project.
• Online survey and a 2-day meeting involving 21 European and global stakeholders.
• Stakeholder feedback collection on proposed solutions and prioritization of future strategies.

Main Results:

• Key challenges identified include lack of standardized data access, varying evidentiary needs, and insufficient HTA capacity.
• Proposed solutions encompass capacity building, national/international dialogues, standardization, and enhanced European collaboration.
• Stakeholders exhibited diverse expectations regarding the success of the proposed solutions.

Conclusions:

• Aligning evidentiary needs through dialogue, standardization via European collaboration, and capacity building are essential for HTA innovation.
• Without increased investment in personnel, HTA agencies face prioritization dilemmas.
• While European collaboration is vital, global alignment may be necessary for effective standardization.