OBJECTIVES: Expert elicitation is a technique that can be useful to generate evidence through experts’ judgement in the absence of existing data or published literature. Limited guidance exists for expert elicitation in Health Technology Assessments (HTA). We therefore aimed to review use of expert elicitation methodologies within the literature to define appropriate implementation and use for HTA decision-making.

METHODS: A targeted literature review (TLR) was conducted exploring the use of expert elicitation methods in HTA. Following the review, we identified the typical situations where expert elicitation was used in the context of HTA decision-making and developed a roadmap framework to guide appropriate methodological choices across a variety of contexts.

RESULTS: Despite limited guidance, the TLR found that expert elicitation is accepted as a methodology by numerous HTA bodies. Examples of quantitative uses of expert elicitation techniques included utility value derivation, quantifying uncertainty, long-term extrapolations, and real-world dosing patterns. Examples of qualitative purposes included strategic planning for HTA submissions and positioning, validation of non-conventional model inputs, understanding key drivers of uncertainty, burden of illness studies, and consensus derivation. Following the review, a road map of potential uses was developed to help facilitate methodology choices, study design and implementation across an array of market access research questions, while following good practice principles detailed in published literature.

CONCLUSIONS: We present a HTA roadmap framework to help guide appropriate method selection and study design when considering potential use and application of elicitation techniques, to provide HTAs with reliable information to inform their decision-making in the absence of patient-level data.