Problem Statement: In 2023 the Danish Health Technology Council (DHTC) published health technology assessments (HTA) on, among others, sensor-based glucose monitors for adults with type 1 diabetes and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in colonoscopy. The HTAs led to a recommendation for and recommendation against a national implementation of the technologies, respectively. This abstract summarizes factors that were decisive for the outcomes of the recommendations.

Description: DHTC methods dictate that four perspectives are to be examined in HTAs of health technologies: clinical effectiveness and safety, the patients’ perspective, organizational implications, and health economics. Covering these four perspectives, the Council is to decide if a health technology should be recommended for national implementation. By comparing two HTAs, with a recommendation for and against national implementation, respectively, decisive factors for the recommendation outcomes are identified.

Lessons Learned: DHTC emphasized the following elements as decisive for their recommendations:

The use of glucose monitors:

• Leads to pronounced positive effects on several clinical outcomes
• Has compelling, positive consequences for patients, with potential to improve patients’ treatment satisfaction, quality of life, and insight into treatment and disease
• Is supported by a solid evidence base
• Is appraised by clinicians as a valuable tool for improving quality of treatment and communication with patients

In contrast, the use of AI:

• Might constitute a risk to patient safety, if leading to the collection of unnecessary tissue samples with the risks this entails
• Has not been evaluated with respect to patient-relevant outcomes
• Is supported by an inadequate evidence base
• Does not usefully support clinicians’ decision-making, who often opt out of using the AI-function

Stakeholder perspective: DHTC bases its recommendation on a consideration of multiple factors, where patient-centeredness, perceived value amongst clinicians, and the solidity of the evidence base supporting the use of the technology were emphasized as pivotal for the outcome of the national recommendations.