Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To examine expert perspectives on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Technology Assessment (HTA).
METHODS: The use of AI across the HTA pipeline presents both opportunities for efficiency and methodological innovation as well as clear challenges related to transparency and governance. The NICE HTA innovation laboratory (HTA Lab) project “Future of HTA with AI” conducted a landscape review to examine the currently held perspectives on the opportunities, risks, and implementation considerations for the use of AI in HTA. The landscape review used a thematic clustering approach to identify and group recommendations supporting the adoption of AI in HTA methods. The resulting themes were then mapped to three key stakeholder groups: evidence developers, HTA agencies and regulators, and health system partners.
RESULTS: The findings of the landscape review highlight a clear call for robust validation and reporting standards, clarity on appropriate uses of AI in HTA, and greater alignment between methodological innovation and regulatory and ethical expectations. Evidence developers are encouraged to prioritise transparency, fairness, interoperability, and ongoing evaluations and monitoring of performance. HTA agencies and regulators were called upon to produce methodological guidance, governance frameworks, and expectations for documentation to support accountability of AI use in HTA. Health system partners are identified as critical enablers of real-world adoption requiring governance approaches and improved AI literacy to support full deployment.
CONCLUSIONS: The perspectives reviewed identified a need for leadership in methodology and governance, and standards for accountability, describing health regulatory and assessment bodies as being well placed to influence good practice.