OBJECTIVES: Implementation of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has the potential to improve the allocative efficiency of scarce health care resources. This study aims to assess the current status of HTA implementation in Egypt and map the preferred directions based on feedback from multiple stakeholders.

METHODS: A survey was conducted in July 2018 during a workshop held for Egyptian health care decision-makers about options for HTA implementation. The survey relied on an international scorecard that was designed to support the formulation of HTA roadmaps in developing countries in eight areas, including capacity building, HTA financing, process and organizational structure, the scope of HTA, decision criteria, standardization of methodology, use of local data and international collaboration.

RESULTS: 31 local stakeholders filled in the HTA scorecard. Project-based HTA workshops or short courses are the most common form of HTA education in Egypt (55%), which may not be sufficient to induce hands-on training experience. Therefore, 77% of the participants supported the establishment of postgraduate HTA training programs in the future. Participants reported limited availability of funding for HTA research and critical appraisal. They indicated the need for increased public budget and additional private funding through submission fees to improve the sustainability of critical appraisals. All respondents highlighted the need for local HTA evidence in the future. They recommended the use of decision thresholds, 20% preferred an implicit threshold, while 67% preferred explicit soft thresholds. Increased use of quality assurance tools can improve the reliability of HTA reports in the future.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate the continuous need to strengthen the educational and methodological basis of current HTA activities in Egypt, leading to a more efficient health system. Findings also point out that the locally collected evidence should receive higher priority in policy decisions. Our roadmap sets up long-term objectives based on a multi-stakeholder dialogue.