THE STATUS OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY-ASSESSMENT WORLDWIDE - RESULTS OF AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY

Health technology assessment (HTA) has increasingly become a valuable tool to examine effectiveness, quality of care, patient outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of health care technologies. In 1994 and 1995, a su rvey was conducted to document the scope of worldwide HTA activities; 103 organizations from 24 countries responded. This paper summarizes t he results of this international survey, including a description of ea ch country's program, types of technologies assessed, methodologies us ed, and dissemination approaches. Results for Canada, the United State s, and European and other countries are presented separately.