HTA News and Events

New Target Zero Initiative Aims to Help Improve Access to New Drugs [CADTH, April 2024]

Target Zero is a new initiative that aims to improve the time to access for patients in Canada for new drugs that are proven to be effective. The ambitious goal of Target Zero is to achieve zero days between Health Canada’s regulatory approval of a drug and CADTH’s reimbursement recommendation to participating public drug plans.

Prescription board sets tentative 2024 cost review plan to identify expensive drugs [MarylandMatters, January 2024]

State officials tasked with reining in prescription costs for Marylanders on the state health plan will soon start the process of identifying which medications are costly for patients, but actual cost reduction efforts appear to be months away. Several ISPOR members sit on this review board.

Managed Care Pharmacy Primer Series [AMCP, January 2024]

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacists (AMCP) is publishing a series of primers on managed care in honor of their first CEO Judith A. Cahill. It was Judith's vision to educate people on managed care pharmacy. These primers offer simple and easy to read information on the decision-making process in the United States.

No Easy Predictions About the European Union Joint Clinical Assessment [ISPOR, April 2024]

A special spotlight session at ISPOR’s Europe meeting, EU Joint Clinical Assessment: One for All and All for One in November 2023 examined ways that PICOs [population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes] could be consolidated, presenting perspectives from EUnetHTA 21, government, and health technology developer on the proposed process, methodology, and implications for evidence development. The intent of the session was to address the question of how to develop a JCA scoping procedure that has the most impact and brings value to EU patients.

ISPOR submits comments to European Commission on Joint Clinical Assessment Procedural Document [ISPOR, April 2024]

ISPOR submitted comments on behalf of its membership to the European Commission on their procedural document for JCA. ISPOR focused its comments on the timing of good evidence generation and the importance of good stakeholder engagement.

Advancing health technology assessment in Taiwan [NICE, January 2024]

A case study, exploring NICE International’s collaboration with Taiwan’s Centre for Drug Evaluation (CDE) and National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA). This partnership aims to enhance the evaluation and inclusion of new drugs in Taiwan’s healthcare system, delivering improvements for individuals, the Taiwan health system, and society as a whole.

NICE recommends two AI-powered software tools for stroke diagnosis in NHS [PMLiVE, January 2024]

In one of the firsts in the world, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended two artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software tools for use in the NHS for stroke diagnosis.

Making tender decisions: How does Pharmac allocate its fixed budget? [Pharmac, April 2024]

How does Pharmac decide how to allocate spending? Geraldine MacGibbon explains.

Chair and deputy chair appointments for health technology assessment committees [Australian Department of Health, March 2024]

This document announces the 2024 chair and deputy chair appointments for health technology assessment committees. It includes the appointments for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) and the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC).

Advancing health technology assessment in Taiwan [NICE, January 2024]

A case study, exploring NICE International’s collaboration with Taiwan’s Centre for Drug Evaluation (CDE) and National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA). This partnership aims to enhance the evaluation and inclusion of new drugs in Taiwan’s healthcare system, delivering improvements for individuals, the Taiwan health system, and society as a whole.

Jamaica joins the Health Technology Assessment Network of the Americas (RedETSA) [PAHO, April 2023]

The Ministry of Health and Wellness of Jamaica has officially become a member of the Health Technology Assessment Network of the Americas (RedETSA), of which PAHO acts as Secretariat. With this incorporation, RedETSA reaches 41 members from 21 countries in the Region of the Americas. Jamaica is the second English Caribbean country to participate in the Network, after Bermuda, which shows the growing interest in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in the Caribbean.

WHO workshop addresses Health Technology Assessment challenges in African countries [World Health Organization, December 2023]

In a landmark event, the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a ‘historical’ workshop on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for selected member states in the African region. Held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from December 12th to 14th, 2023, with the theme ‘Health Technology Assessment for Priority Setting to Achieve Universal Health Coverage, the workshop aimed at tackling critical issues related to the systematic evaluation of healthcare technology and its role in decision-making processes. The workshop also envisaged helping the establishment and institutionalization of HTA in the health systems of the selected countries, sharing experiences and approaches for capacity building, disseminating relevant guidance documents to promote the use of HTA, and ultimately helping countries to develop their roadmaps for progressing towards implementation of HTA concepts and principles.