Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program
| The Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program | |
|---|---|
| Overview of Organization | |
| Type | Research |
| Field of Work | Health Technology Assessment |
| Founded | 2007[1] |
| Headquarters | 6th Floor, 6th Building, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health (Thailand), Tiwanon Rd., Muang, Nonthaburi 11000[2] |
| Key Personnel | Yot Teerawattananon MD.PhD., Program Leader Sripen Tantivess PhD., Senior Researcher |
| Research Areas | Health Technology Assessment,
Economic Evaluations, Health Policy Analysis, HTA Infrastructure Development |
| Funding Sources | Domestic Public Funding, International Donor Organizations |
| Website | hitap.net globalhitap.net |
The Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) is a semi-autonomous research unit under Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health. It was established in 2007 as a non-profit organization in order to take responsibility for appraising a wide range of health technologies and programs, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, interventions, individual and community health promotion, and disease prevention as well as social health policy to inform policy decisions in Thailand.[3] HITAP assumes an advisory role to health governmental authorities by providing rigorous scientific evidence through professional assessment of health data in support of public decision-making. These assessments cover a range of topics including system design, selection of technologies for assessment, and the actual assessment of those selected and agreed upon by relevant government agencies.[4] In this effort, HITAP publishes research and studies in the following areas: methodological development, (HTA and cost) databases and guidelines; knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) and capacity development; technology assessments on drugs, medical devices, medical procedures, disease prevention and health promotion measures; benefit packages of care – mixing screening and treatments; and other public health policies, e.g. evaluation of Thailand’s government compulsory license policy.
Strategies
In operationalizing HITAP’s goals and in fulfilling its advisory role in the decision making process HITAP follows the five key strategies[5] of having an 1) HTA Fundamental System; 2) strengthening Human Capacity; 3) HTA Research; 4) Knowledge Management; and 5) creating an HTA Network.
Having an HTA fundamental system entails basic research and development for HTA or the creation of infrastructure to support health intervention and technology assessment by developing standards that are on par with the international level whilst taking into account resource constraints in the Thai context. Under this strategy, methodological guidelines,[6] a database of HTA studies in Thailand, tools and quality of life measures for cost-utility analysis, and a social value based threshold ceiling were developed. To strengthen Human Capacity is to work at the individual, institutional and system levels. To date, HITAP along with its partners have sponsored the completion of graduate studies at both the masters (17 staff) and doctoral level (8 staff) with the aim of strengthening staff technical competency for research. In addition, for stakeholders interested in HTA, training courses are organized annually for physicians, pharmacists, public health administrators, and others. HITAP’s core business is HTA Research. The strategy therefore addresses the growing demand for studies, particularly on cost-effectiveness and budget impact appraisals in Thailand. HITAP’s current body of research includes 124 published reports and publications on pharmaceuticals (26), medical devices (8), medical procedures (4), health interventions (26), health promotion and disease prevention interventions (38), health policy (8), and others (14). Through applying a knowledge management strategy and by disseminating research results to all relevant stakeholders, translation and integration of research findings into policy becomes effective. HITAP actively engages stakeholders through a variety of channels – meetings, seminars, press releass, blogs and social media including, facebook, twitter and online campaigns. Its fifth strategy is creating an HTA network. HITAP’s collaborations operate at the regional, national and international levels including academic institutes, health professional consortia and associations, and health providers. Notably, HITAP is in partnership with more than 20 HTA institutes in Asia and additionally involved as a core partner in the international Decision Support Initiative (IDSI) of NICE International, UK funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
HTA in the public health system
In 1981, Thailand’s National List of Essential Medicines was created. Subsequently in 1983, the Subcommittee for the Development of the National List of Essential Medicines who works in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration as its secretariat. In the latter years, the function of the subcommittee became the maintenance of an optimal list of medicines, wherein the criteria for selection were cost, safety, efficacy and effectiveness of drugs. In each of these criteria, the subcommittee’s [7] was to consider scientific evidence to determine which medicines are to be included in the list. Twenty-eight specialist working groups undertake the task of determining what should be on the list as well as informing price negotiations between manufacturers and the NLEM.
Increasingly, awareness and realization that the evidence required for optimal coverage decisions involved analyses in cost-effectiveness as a fifth criterion. In 2009, the Health Economics Working Group was established under the subcommittee. The working group was composed of health economists, representatives from the subcommittee, academics and representatives from the three health insurance schemes and the working group secretariat. In this process, HITAP in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration was involved as the secretariat of the working group whose function was to generate procedures and assure quality of the evidence provided. The HEWG then prioritized the requests based on burden of disease, the risk to life and financial burden on households posed by the condition and social consideration and commissions the cost-effectiveness research from non-profit agencies (like HITAP).
International work
In late 2013 in response to the increasing requests for involvement in international projects, HITAP created the HITAP International Unit in order to collaborate with international partners and networks working to improve health intervention and technology assessment (HITA) for Universal Health Care (UHC) and priority-setting capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The HIU draws upon the experiences of HITAP experts to match the growing demand for evidence-informed policy at the global level. Under the HIU, dedicated professionals work and collaborate to provide the means with which to build institutions dedicated towards establishing HTA and priority setting at the local, national and global levels through research, capacity building activities and knowledge products. With the vision of Building Health Technology Assessment Capacity for a Better Society engages in projects, activities and partnerships working towards the same efforts. The HIU has previously worked with the National Center for Pharmaceutical Access and Management (NCPAM), Philippines, Health Technology Assessment Committee (HTAC), Indonesia, Health Systems and Policy Institute (HSPI), Vietnam, the International Decision Support Initiative (IDSI), UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence International (NI), UK.
In the past HITAP has been instrumental in pushing HTA forward in international policy by becoming part of the delegation representing Thailand as sponsors and writers of several resolutions in the World Health Assembly (WHA) and the South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) of the World Health Organization (WHO), including:
- Health Intervention and Technology Assessment in Support of Universal Health Coverage Agenda. 15.7 A67/VR/9, WHA 67.23 24 May 2014.[8]
- Health Intervention and Technology Assessment in Support of Universal Health Coverage. SEA/RC66/R4 May, 2014.[9]
HITAP has also worked to establish regional collaboration amongst HTA units in Asia. Along with the National Evidence-based Health Care Collaborating Agency, South Korea (NECA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation, Taiwan (CDE), HITAP founded the HTAsiaLink Network in 2010.[10] The network is a collaborative platform for knowledge sharing and best practices of HTA in the Asia-Pacific region. One of its many activities is the production of a biannual HTAsialink Newsletter and an Annual HTAsiaLink Conference held in different member countries in Asia. Currently the Network has 30 member organizations from 16 Countries. HITAP has previously organized the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Reflecting on a Decade of Achievement and Strengthening a Multi-Sectoral Approach to Implementation as well as co-organized the Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) 2016: Priority Setting for Universal Health Care in 2015.
References
- ^ "HITAP: โครงการประเมินเทคโนโลยีและนโยบายด้านสุขภาพ". HITAP: โครงการประเมินเทคโนโลยีและนโยบายด้านสุขภาพ.
- ^ "Contact Us". HITAP: โครงการประเมินเทคโนโลยีและนโยบายด้านสุขภาพ.
- ^ "HITAP: โครงการประเมินเทคโนโลยีและนโยบายด้านสุขภาพ". HITAP: โครงการประเมินเทคโนโลยีและนโยบายด้านสุขภาพ.
- ^ Culyer, Anthony; Podhisita, Chai; Santatiwongchai, Benjarin (January 2016). A Star in the East: A Short History of HITAP. Bangkok: Amarin Printing and Publishing. ISBN 978-616-11-2820-3.
- ^ Culyer, Anthony; Podhisita, Chai; Santatiwongchai, Benjarin (January 2016). A Star in the East: A Short History of HITAP. Bangkok: Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Co., Ltd. pp. 78–83. ISBN 978-616-11-2820-3.
- ^ Tangcharoensathien, V.; Kamolratanakul, P. (2008). "Making sensible rationing: the use of economic evidence and the need for methodological standards". Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand. Supplement 2. 91: S88 – S99.
- ^ Teerawattananon, Yot; Tritasavit, Nattha; Suchonwanich, N.; Kingkaew, P. (December 2014). "The Use of economic evaluation for guiding the pharmaceutical reimbursement list in Thailand". Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen. 108 (7): 397–404.
- ^ "Health Intervention and Technology Assessment in Support of Universal Health Coverage" (PDF). World Health Assembly. 24 May 2014.
- ^ "Health intervention and technology assessment in support of universal health coverage" (PDF). World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia. 20 July 2015.
- ^ "HTAsiaLink". www.htasialink.org.