OBJECTIVES: The scarcity of resources poses restrictions on health policy decisions in middle income countries. Health technology assessment (HTA) balances restricted budgets with maximized population health. We aim to characterize the current status of HTA in Algeria and describe the future directions for HTA implementation according to the priorities set by local stakeholders.

METHODS: Stakeholders from the public and private sectors filled in an international scorecard to explore the current and future status of HTA implementation in Algeria. Eight domains were included: capacity building, HTA financing, process and organizational structure, scope of HTA implementation, decision criteria, standardization of methodology, use of local data, and international collaboration.

RESULTS: 31 experts filled in the HTA scorecard; most of them were from the public sector (74%). Experts highlighted that project based HTA workshops or short courses are the most common form of HTA education in Algeria, and recommended the establishment of postgraduate HTA programs in the future. As limited funding is available for HTA research and critical appraisal, increased public budget for HTA and application of submission fees by manufacturers for critical appraisal are recommended. 55% of respondents recommended a national public HTA agency as opposed to the other institutional structures, such as an HTA committee (19%) or multiple HTA bodies (19%). Another point of interest was the need for local HTA evidence generation in the future using patient registries and payers' database. Most of the experts were advocating for explicit thresholds (61%) and quality assurance tools, including local methodological guidelines (68%) and critical appraisal checklists (61%).

CONCLUSIONS: Our scorecard results delineate the current and future picture of HTA in Algeria based on insights of multiple stakeholders. The need to improve the educational HTA programs in Algeria, using local evidence in policy decisions and increased funding for HTA were the most advocated recommendations.