New technologies with the potential to improve the health of populations are continuously being introduced. But not every technological development results in clear health gains. Health technology assessment provides evidence-based information on the coverage and usage of health technologies, enabling them to be evaluated properly and applied to health care efficaciously, promoting the most effective ones while also taking into account organizational, societal and ethical issues. This book reviews the relationship between health technology assessment and policy-making, and examines how to increase the contribution such research makes to policy- and decision-making processes. By communicating the value and potential of health technology assessment to a wider audience, both within and beyond decision-making and health care management, it aims ultimately to contribute to improve the health status of the population through the delivery of optimum health services.

This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.

This report addresses the concepts and controversy surrounding health technology assessment in Europe, with a particular focus on selected Member States including Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is intended to identify and address current considerations regarding HTA methodological and process issues related to the prioritization and financing of modern health care. In particular, it describes the processes and challenges for identifying and prioritizing assessments; assesses and compares current assessment methods and procedures; and highlights the barriers to effective implementation. The report also ascertains the roles and terms of engagement of key stakeholders, and captures the opportunities and challenges for the use of HTA guidance in general priority-setting, decision-making and health-care provision.

People have always travelled within Europe for work and leisure, although never before with the current intensity. Now, however, they are travelling for many other reasons, including the quest for key services such as health care. Whatever the reason for travelling, one question they ask is "If I fall ill, will the health care I receive be of a high standard?" This book examines, for the first time, the systems that have been put in place in all of the European Union's 27 Member States. The picture it paints is mixed. Some have well developed systems, setting standards based on the best available evidence, monitoring the care provided, and taking action where it falls short. Others need to overcome significant obstacles.

A timely work describing how localized hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) complements general, ‘arms-length’ HTA agency efforts, and what has been the collective global impact of HB-HTA across the globe. While HB-HTA has gained significant momentum over the past few years, expertise in the field, and information on the operation and organization of HB-HTA, has been scattered. This book serves to bring this information together to inform those who are currently working in the field of HTA at the hospital, regional, national or global level. In addition, this book is intended for decision-makers and policy-makers with a stake in determining the uptake and decommissioning of new and established technologies in the hospital setting. HTA has traditionally been performed at the National/Regional level by HTA Agencies, typically linked to governments. Yet hospitals are the main entry door for most health technologies (HTs). Hospital decision-makers must undertake multiple high stakes investment and disinvestment decisions annually for innovative HTs, usually without adequate information. Despite the existence of arms-length HTA Agencies, inadequate information is available to hospital decision-makers either because relevant HTA reports are not yet released at the time of entry of new technologies to the field, or because even when the report exists, the information contained is insufficient to clarify the contextualized informational needs of hospital decision makers. Therefore, there has recently been a rising trend toward hospital-based HTA units and programs. These units/programs complement the work of National/Regional HTA Agencies by providing the key and relevant evidence needed by hospital decision makers in their specific hospital context, and within required decision-making timelines. The emergence of HB-HTA is creating a comprehensive HTA ecosystem across health care levels, which creates better bridges for knowledge translation through relevance and timeliness.

WHO and partners have been working towards devising an agenda, an action plan, tools and guidelines to increase access to appropriate medical devices. This document is part of a series of reference documents being developed for use at the country level. The series will include the following subject areas: * policy framework for health technology * medical device regulations * health technology assessment * health technology management * needs assessment of medical devices * medical device procurement * medical equipment donations * medical equipment inventory management * medical equipment maintenance * computerized maintenance management systems * medical device data * medical device nomenclature * medical devices by health-care setting * medical devices by clinical procedures * medical device innovation, research and development. These documents are intended for use by biomedical engineers, health managers, donors, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions involved in health technology at the district, national, regional or global levels. HTA is the systematic evaluation of properties, effects, and/or impacts of health technology. Its main purpose is to inform technology-related policy-making in health care, and thus improve the uptake of cost-effective new technologies and prevent the uptake of technologies that are of doubtful value for the health system. It is one of three complementary functions to ensure the appropriate introduction and use of health technology. The other two components are regulation, which is concerned with safety and efficacy, and assessment of all significant intended as well as unintended consequences of technology use; and management, which is concerned with the procurement and maintenance of the technology during its life-cycle. The performance of health systems is strengthened when the linkages and exchange among these elements are clearly differentiated but mutually supportive. This document integrates health technology assessment into the WHO framework for evidence-informed policy-making. Health systems are strengthened when HTA is integrated into the human and material resources, data, transparent decision- and policy-making, and linked to the overall vision of equity and accountability. Good governance can rely on health technology assessment to provide a policy approach that is accountable for its decisions to the population.

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive guide to involving patients in health technology assessment (HTA). Defining patient involvement as patient participation in the HTA process and research into patient aspects, this book includes detailed explanations of approaches to participation and research, as well as case studies. Patient Involvement in HTA enables researchers, postgraduate students, HTA professionals and experts in the HTA community to study these complementary ways of taking account of patients’ knowledge, experiences, needs and preferences. Part I includes chapters discussing the ethical rationale, terminology, patient-based evidence, participation and patient input. Part II sets out methodology including: Qualitative Evidence Synthesis, Discrete Choice Experiments, Analytical Hierarchy Processes, Ethnographic Fieldwork, Deliberative Methods, Social Media Analysis, Patient-Reported Outcome Measures, patients as collaborative research partners and evaluation. Part III contains 15 case studies setting out current activities by HTA bodies on five continents, health technology developers and patient organisations. Each part includes discussion chapters from leading experts in patient involvement. A final chapter reflects on the need to clearly define the goals for patient involvement within the context of the HTA to identify the optimal approach. With cohesive contributions from more than 80 authors from a variety of disciplines around the globe, it is hoped this book will serve as a catalyst for collaboration to further develop patient involvement to improve HTA. "If you’re not involving patients, you're not doing HTA!" - Dr. Brian O’Rourke, President and CEO of CADTH, Chair of INAHTA