Health technology assessment (HTA) uses a multidisciplinary approach to answer relevant questions regarding the safety, efficacy, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health technologies. There is growing interest in implementing HTA methods at the hospital level because it could facilitate decision-making regarding acquisition, implementation or discontinuation of technologies or interventi...

The International Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care (ISTAHC) was formed in 1985. It grew out of the increasing awareness of the international dimensions of health technology assessment (HTA) and the need for new communication methods at the international level. The main function of ISTAHC was to present an annual conference, which gradually grew in size, and also to generally imp...

OBJECTIVES Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is defined as a policy research approach that examines the short- and long-term social consequences of the application or use of technology. Internationally different institutions have translated this definition to local contexts. In Denmark, HTA is comprehensive with focus on four aspects of the problem in question (technology [clinical evidence], ...

BACKGROUND The way in which a health technology is used in any particular health system depends on the decisions and actions of a variety of stakeholders, the local culture, and context. In 2009, the HTAi Policy Forum considered how health technology assessment (HTA) could be improved to optimize the use of technologies (in terms of uptake, change in use, or disinvestment) in such complex syste...

BACKGROUND Health technology assessment (HTA) is a tool utilized for efficient dissemination of technology. For the purpose of encouraging decision-makers to utilize this tool, at first, we need to identify the obstacles in the processes of preparation, utilization, and implementation of HTAs. This study aims to define these barriers and offer solutions for effective utilization of HTA reports ...

OBJECTIVES The complexity of health technology assessment (HTA) has increased, in part because of its evolution through three distinct phases: the machine, the clinical outcomes, and the delivery models. However, the theoretical foundation for the field remains underdeveloped. METHODS It is high time for HTA to bring together aspects of conceptual and theoretical works from other fields to st...

Health systems are placing more and more emphasis on designing and delivering services that are focused on the patient, and there is a growing interest in patient aspects of health policy research and health technology assessment (HTA). Only a few HTA agencies use and invest in scientific methods to generate knowledge and evidence about the patient aspects of a given technology. This raises que...

BACKGROUND The relationship between regulatory approval on the one hand and health technology assessment (HTA) and coverage on the other is receiving growing attention. Those responsible for regulatory approval, HTA, and coverage have different missions and their information requirements reflect these. There is nonetheless an increasingly popular view that improved communication and coordinatio...

OBJECTIVES To describe and explore the reasons for the current health technology assessment (HTA) landscape in the United States. METHODS Relying on multiple historical literature and other documents as well as drawing on personal experiences and observations, we describe, evaluate, and explain the evolving and dynamic HTA-related evidence landscape. RESULTS The present HTA-related landscap...