SHORT COURSE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Date: 9-12 March 2021
Post-event Report Written by Celestine Grace Xueting Cai
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a process of evaluating the costs, benefits, effectiveness and consequences of new health technologies. It is particularly useful for policy-makers and decision-makers to determine the best allocation of limited resources to achieve the greatest benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen countries around the world stretched to their limits. The resulting scarcity of funding and health resources will have a lasting impact even when the pandemic is over. However, as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals puts it, “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development”1. The health of the population is key to a country’s recovery and growth, and HTA is paramount for dealing with this scarcity through efficient resource allocation.
In March 2021, HIPER conducted its signature workshop “Introduction to Health Technology Assessment” in collaboration with Thailand’s Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program unit and Hitotsubashi University’s Research Center for Health Policy and Economics. Instead of being held at a physical conference venue, this year’s workshop was conducted in real time through a virtual platform in accordance with the social distancing and travel restrictions during this pandemic. This unique format has led to greater reach and 53 participants from around the world were able to join the workshop, including those from Thailand, Singapore, Rwanda, Philippines, Vietnam and India.
“Introduction to Health Technology Assessment” is a structured course that brings participants along the whole experience of conducting a HTA from start to finish. Classes cover a range of topics from how to select the right HTA approach and how to collect high quality data evidence, to how to conduct modeling for economic evaluation and budget impact analysis. Classes are carried out as a combination of lectures to introduce the concepts and small group hands-on discussions to dive into the details. Theoretical concepts are underscored with real world examples from Thailand’s Universal Health Coverage Scheme, and the whole course is tied together through an overarching case study on modalities of dialysis treatment.
The comprehensive coverage of HTA topics and mixed mode of delivery made the workshop suitable for a wide audience, from policy-makers to data analysts. This year’s workshop saw participants coming from governmental agencies, academic institutions, healthcare institutions, NGOs and private companies. Despite the unconventional virtual format of this year’s workshop, participants generally had a positive experience. According to the post-workshop survey, the majority of participants agreed that the content was useful for their work and would recommend this course to their peers.
References:
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/
Participants discussing the properties of an ideal health technology in the video conferencing chat box.
Participants sharing their views on health resource allocation using the video conferencing software’s annotate function.