PRIORITY SETTING FOR HEALTH TECHNOLOGY-ASSESSMENT - THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES - A PAPER PRODUCED BY THE PRIORITY SETTING SUBGROUP OF THE EUR ASSESS PROJECT

This report is about setting priorities for health technology assessme nt (HTA). HTA examines systematically the consequences of the applicat ion of health technologies (broadly defined to include any health care intervention) to support decision making in policy and practice. Only a fraction of existing health technologies have been formally evaluat ed, and many more appear each year. Resources for HTA are, however, li mited so that priorities have to be set, whether explicitly or implici tly. The aim of setting priorities for HTA should be to identify those assessments that offer the greatest benefits in relation to their cos t, and thus to maximize the benefit derived from investments in HTA. H TA is an important tool in the identification of priorities for health care, but this report is not directly concerned with the identificati on of priorities for health care. It is intended to help those wishing to set priorities for HTA. Various theoretical models and practical s ystems have been developed for setting priorities for HTA. Few, howeve r, have been formally evaluated, and this report does not recommend an y single approach. Instead, it analyzes (in chapters 2 and 3) the proc ess of setting priorities and offers (in chapter 4) some practical gui dance to help those wishing to set priorities for HTA to develop a sys tem suited to their particular needs and circumstances. Some approache s to priority setting can involve extensive analysis and discussion. O thers may involve less extensive work. This report does not make any r ecommendation about the amount of effort that should be devoted to pri ority setting. The priority setting process is analyzed in some depth, but this is to help those involved understand the process and associa ted principles. It is not intended to imply that detailed work on prio rities will be appropriate to all programs.