BACKGROUND
Several years ago, ISPOR convened an ad hoc advisory body of health care decision makers to provide strategies to ISPOR on bridging the gap between outcomes research and health care decisions (Health Care Strategy Council). Key issues identified by this advisory body were education/training, health policy/market force, methods/standards, information availability/access/sharing/applicability, and credibility/integrity/bias. ISPOR has implemented many programs to address education/training through its many educational programs(online distance learning, pre-meeting short courses and more) and address methods/standards and credibility/integrity/bias through its Good Research Practices program including a code of ethics. However information availability/applicability/access/sharing were issues which could best be addressed by professionals who use outcomes research information to develop evidence to inform health care decision-makers. Since health technology assessment informs many health care decision-makers - regulatory agencies, health care payers, clinicians, hospitals, clinics, health authorities, and patients, the ISPOR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Council was formed.

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this ISPOR HTA Council is to provide a forum to discuss, debate, share, health technology issues as well as bridge the gap between HTA agencies, health care decision-makers and outcomes researchers and to optimize healthcare decisions using outcomes research.

The ISPOR HTA Council consists of HTA Council – North America, HTA Council – Europe, HTA Council – Asia-Pacific, and HTA Council – Latin America. Since ISPOR convenes annual or biennial meetings in these regions of the world, there will be an opportunity for each regional HTA Council to convene (immediately after the ISPOR annual/biennial meeting) to develop and discuss HTA issues and share information.

ISPOR Health Technology Assessment Vision 2020

ISPOR Health Technology Assessment Council Members

ISPOR Health Technology Assessment Council Activities

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT ISSUES:

The following issues were identified and prioritized by the participants from the HTA Council-North America Roundtable:
(The comments in red are additional HTA issues identified by participants from the ISPOR HTA Council – Europe Roundtable)
As during the ISPOR HTA Council – North America Roundtable, the goal was to identify HTA issues, not to develop consensus.

Issue VI: Translating HTA information for or by Health Policy-makers

Issue IV: HTA Methods & Studies

Issue V: HTA Prioritization

Issue III: HTA Data

Issue I : Need for HTA Information

Issue II : HTA Scope & Technology Life Cycle