Module 3: Health Technology Assessment (HTA)Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health technology assessment as: "the systematic evaluation of properties, effects, and/or impacts

Module 3: Health Technology Assessment (HTA)Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health technology assessment as:  "the systematic evaluation of properties, effects, and/or impacts of health technology. It is a multidisciplinary process to evaluate the social, economic, organizational and ethical issues of a health intervention or health technology.  The main purpose of conducting an assessment is to inform a policy decision making" (WHO, n.d.).  This week, you will focus on health technology assessment (HTA), including HTA methods, and the issues associated with its use.   Health care costs are skyrocketing and technology is one area that drives costs. In response to these rising costs, health technology assessment was developed.  A number of developed countries like the U.K., Canada, and Australia have surpassed the United States in their use of health technology assessment.

Module ObjectivesUpon completion of this module, the student will be able to:

1. Describe HTA principles and practice
2. Discuss the role of economic evaluation and pricing in HTA
3. Compare and contrast the differing perspectives of provider, patient, and agency related to HTA

Module ReadingsRequired Readings:

• Scalleti, A. (2014). Evaluating investments in health care systems: Health technology assessment. (Links to an external site.) Springer.
  • Chapter 3: Health Technology Assessment
• Sharaf, R. N., Khullar, D., & Umscheid, C. A. (2020). Health technology assessment centers-an infrastructure for health systems to translate evidence into practice (Links to an external site.). JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1296–1299.
• The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review [ICER] (2020). A guide to ICER’s methods for health technology assessment (Links to an external site.)