Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) in Practice: Strengthening EU HTA Through CEE Expertise and Patient Perspectives

The implementation of the Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) under the EU HTA Regulation marks a pivotal shift toward more harmonized, transparent, and effective HTA across Europe. This panel brings together national HTA agencies and patient representatives—particularly from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)—to share lessons learned from early JCA experiences, and to highlight the unique contributions that CEE countries and patient voices can bring to the European HTA landscape. With decades of experience navigating constrained healthcare budgets, CEE HTA bodies have developed pragmatic cost-effectiveness, affordability, and healthcare budget sustainability arrangements. Their insights, coupled with patient advocates' lived experiences of access barriers, can significantly enrich the JCA process—supporting more equitable, inclusive, and implementable assessments across Member States. Panel Objectives and Themes: 1. First-Hand Implementation Experiences Across Europe This session will feature perspectives from both larger and smaller HTA agencies in the CEE, including Poland (co-assessor in the first JCA process, and others, focusing on: ? Coordination and submission timelines in early JCA pilots ? Challenges in aligning national and EU-level perspectives ? Capacity building and competence development ? Communication effectiveness with MAHs ? Use of JCA findings in national pricing/reimbursement decisions 2. CEE Contributions and the Value of Diverse Perspectives This part will explore: ? CEE HTA strengths: cost-effectiveness, practical decision-making, and resource use ? Patient perspectives from CEE: how systemic access barriers shape needs and expectations ? Strategic integration of regional expertise and patient input to enhance methodological consistency and legitimacy of EU-wide assessments Expected Outcomes: ? Practical insights for optimizing national contributions to the JCA ? Recommendations for enhancing patient engagement across the JCA lifecycle ? Understanding how the inclusion of CEE expertise can support more robust, fair, and actionable EU-level HTA