Session (CTI)

ISSUE: HTA guidelines in Central and Eastern Europe are increasingly expected to address rapid methodological and policy change, including real-world evidence, disease severity, digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, cost-effectiveness thresholds and the implementation of EU Joint Clinical Assessment. The key debate is whether CEE countries should move toward greater methodological convergence or preserve nationally tailored approaches reflecting local payer needs, data availability and institutional capacity. OVERVIEW: This issue panel will compare recent HTA guideline developments in Hungary, Czechia, Ukraine and Poland. The Hungarian perspective will present a regular, predefined process of methodological guideline revision, including recent changes related to willingness-to-pay thresholds and the potential use of additional health-economic tools such as EQ-5D-5L and bolt-on dimensions. The Czech perspective will focus on the ongoing update of national HTA guidance, including real-world evidence, QALY shortfall for severity assessment, digital health technologies and vaccines. The Ukrainian perspective will discuss the third update of national HTA guideline for medicines, including recent developments in evaluating added clinical benefit, the first guideline for medical devices, and institutional implementation in a rapidly evolving healthcare system. The Polish perspective will cover the fourth update of national HTA guidelines, including changes resulting from Joint Clinical Assessment, patient involvement, artificial intelligence and other methodological clarifications. Each panelist will provide a 10-minute country perspective, followed by 20 minutes of moderated debate and audience discussion. The session will benefit HTA agencies, payers, policymakers, academics, consultants and industry representatives interested in translating emerging methodological standards into practical national guidance. The panel aims to identify where regional convergence is useful, where national flexibility remains essential, and how CEE countries can learn from one another when updating HTA methods.