BACKGROUND It has been suggested that differences in health technology assessment (HTA) processes among countries, particularly within Europe, have led to inequity in patient access to new medicines. OBJECTIVES To provide an up-to-date snapshot analysis of the present status of HTA and reimbursement systems in select European countries, and to investigate the implications of these processes, ...

BACKGROUND The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) approach, which provides scientific support for the decisions taken within the health field, is of increasing importance worldwide. In a context of limited resources, HTA has the potential of being an efficient tool for addressing the sustainability problems and the allocation choices arising from the constant increase in demand. AIM This stud...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyze and describe process and outcomes of two pilot assessments based on the HTA Core Model, discuss the applicability of the model, and explore areas of development. METHODS Data were gathered from HTA Core Model and pilot Core HTA documents, their validation feedback, questionnaires to investigators, meeting minutes, emails, and discussions in the ...

Introduction: Assessment of ethics issues is an important part of health technology assessments (HTA). However, in terms of existence of quality assessment tools, ethics for HTA is methodologically underdeveloped in comparison to other areas of HTA, such as clinical or cost effectiveness. Objective: To methodologically advance ethics for HTA by: (1) proposing and elaborating Q-SEA, the first in...

The opportunity cost of inappropriate health policy decisions is greater in Central and Eastern European (CEE) compared with Western European (WE) countries because of poorer population health and more limited healthcare resources. Application of health technology assessment (HTA) prior to healthcare financing decisions can improve the allocative efficiency of scarce resources. However, few CEE...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this article is to describe and analyze the stages toward recognition and implementation of health technology assessment (HTA). METHODS System analysis of structures and institutions and their use of HTA. RESULTS Austria is a latecomer in implementing evaluations/HTA as decision support. It can to a certain degree absorb the increasing international knowledge. Austria ...

This study provides a sociological commentary on the current debates within health technology assessment (HTA), specifically in response to the approaches taken in France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It argues that HTA is part of a wider reflexive innovation system that seeks to order current and prospective technologies. The study discusses the socio-political process of H...

The founding disciplines of HTA are clearly scientific, and have been firmly based among the natural sciences. However, common definitions of HTA indicate that HTA is something more than the "pure application of science". This article investigates whether this "something" also makes HTA an art. The question of whether HTA is a science or an art is pursued in two specific and historically rich d...

Hyalinizing trabecular adenoma (HTA) of the thyroid, characterized by the presence of a trabecular-alveolar growth pattern and marked intratrabecular hyalinization, was initially described 100 years ago. In 1987, Carney et al. introduced the term HTA to describe this rare tumor of the thyroid composed of polygonal, oval, and spindle cells arranged in a trabecular pattern and separated by a hyal...

The use of health technology assessment (HTA) to inform policy-making is established in most developed countries. Compared to licensing agencies, HTA agencies have different interests and, therefore, different evidence requirements. Criteria for coverage or reimbursement decisions on pharmaceutical compounds vary; however, it is common to include, as part of the HTA, a comparative effectiveness...