A Competency Framework for Health Technology Assessment Expertise: Results From a Delphi Study

Competencies for health technology assessment (HTA) professionals can guide development of tailored training development and capacity building. Therefore, the aim of this study was to define new competencies and competency domains for HTA professionals, define competencies on 3 levels of expertise, and build international consensus on the competency descriptions using a Delphi approach.

We updated an existing framework by defining the existing competencies on 3 levels of expertise. New competencies and competency domains were added to the framework. A 2-round Delphi survey was conducted to build consensus on the relevance and description of the updated competencies, new competencies, and competency domains.

The first Delphi survey included 100 panelists. No consensus was reached on 6 out of 69 competencies. Consensus was reached on the relevance and description of competencies within the competency domains of Environmental aspects and Artificial Intelligence use in HTA. No consensus was reached on the relevance of including competencies related to performance and achievements, except for the competency of Scientific principles. These outcomes were used as input for the second Delphi survey, which included 74 panelists. The level of agreement on the renewed competency descriptions did not differ significantly between rounds 1 and 2.

A comprehensive competency framework for HTA professionals on competent, proficient, and expert level was developed. The competency framework facilitates capacity building on individual, organizational, and environmental level.