OBJECTIVES: The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Committee of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was established in 1999 to develop reimbursement policies on medical claims based on the cost-effectiveness of tests and treatments. METHODS: The most commonly prescribed drugs that PhilHealth does not reimburse are subjected to this assessment Because randomized controlled trials provide the best evidence of efficacy and effectiveness, only systematic reviews of RCTs and individuals RCTs are included. The intervention in the study should have at least the drug being evaluated in one arm and a standard treatment in the other arm. Electronic search is done through the Internet in the MEDLINE by two independent searchers. Electronic search is also done in the CD version of the Cochrane Library Two independent reviewers review all abstracts and articles for possible inclusion. The full texts of the selected abstracts are retrieved at a library network. Two reviewers using a standard assessment form independently assess the validity and applicability of the included systematic reviews and clinical trials. Qualitative and if appropriate, quantitative methods are used to analyze and/or combine the results of the different studies in order to come up with a summary measure of effectiveness. RESULTS: Safety and cost-effectiveness data are obtained from the results of clinical trials, post-marketing surveillance studies, ADR reports from local and international sources and local retail drug costs. CONCLUSIONS: If the drug is less cost-effective or safe than the standard drug, then it is not recommended for inclusion in the PhilHealth positive list of reimbursable drugs. If the drug is more cost-effective and poses no additional risk compared with the standard drug, then the drug is recommended for inclusion in the positive list provided that it is used for the conditions for which it was found effective.