Health activities of the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was formed as part of the US Congress of 1972. The 'Health Program' was established in 1975. The purpose of the OTA is to advise Congress on the positive and negative implications of technological change. Since its beginning, the Health Program has spent most of its effort in describing technology assessment in health care and federal policies toward such assessment. A number of specific medical technologies have also been evaluated. Reports on health-care topics by the OTA have had some specific effects in Congress, but the more important impact is probably on the broader climate of opinion concerning medical technology and its benefits, risks, and costs. Technology assessment has become an established part of the Congressional decision-making process and is being used increasingly in countries other than the United States.