New developments in HTA: Evolution not revolution in Health Technology Assessment" is a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The goal of the research is to identify and describe new and emerging developments in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and describe the developments that will be seen in the near future. The research phase took place during the early stages of COVID-19, and while not a focus of the report, we have touched on the impact of the pandemic in relevant sections throughout the report.
We have used the definition of HTA provided by EUnetHTA—a collaborative network of European HTA agencies—as “a multidisciplinary process that summarises information about the medical, social, economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, transparent, unbiased, robust manner.” HTA is often used to inform decisions about the adoption of new health care interventions, including sometimes the financial reimbursement offered to the provider of the technology.
We have focused on five new developments in HTA, informed by published papers from those practicing HTA. They are:
• Industry engagement and involvement
• Real-world data/evidence
• Patient, carer, and citizen involvement
• Incorporating patient and carer preferences and values
• Emerging elements of value
• Real-world data/evidence
• Patient, carer, and citizen involvement
• Incorporating patient and carer preferences and values
• Emerging elements of value
There is a series of four associated animated infographics that summarise four of the five themes.
There is a healthy debate surrounding the practice of HTA, and a desire amongst practitioners to evolve the process to respond to the changing landscape of health and health care systems. Yet there is still a tension; for some, the speed at which HTA actually changes, versus the intensity of the debate, is too slow. We describe how HTA is not a static endeavour, but one that must evolve if it is to overcome the challenges identified.
