Joint Task Force Outlines Process for Creating Robust HTA Frameworks
Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—January 14, 2025—ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research announced today the publication of a tripartite task force report outlining good practices for developing or updating health technology assessment (HTA) guidelines. The report, “Good Practices for Health Technology Assessment Guideline Development: A Joint Report of the HTAi, HTAsiaLink, and ISPOR Special Task Force,” will be copublished in January 2025 in ISPOR’s flagship journal Value in Health and in the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, the official journal of HTAi.”
“Health technology assessment (HTA) guidelines are intended to support successful implementation of HTA by enhancing consistency and transparency in concepts, methods, processes, and use, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the decision-making process,” said author Manit Sittimart, MSc, Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand. “HTA guidelines should reflect the local HTA landscape and infrastructure to ensure practicality and successful implementation. Getting stakeholders engaged and on the same page can produce guidelines that are adopted and used as an evolving reference for HTA in the country. To date, no specific guidance exists for the development and successful adoption of high-quality HTA guidelines, aside from clinical guidelines. This report fills the gap by laying out good practices and practical recommendations for developing or updating HTA guidelines to ensure successful implementation.”
The report was developed under a joint working collaboration between Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), HTAsiaLink, and ISPOR. It focuses on HTA guidelines that are developed at the national, sub-national, or cross-country level. In particular, the report aims to highlight when different approaches may be appropriate for individual contexts and stages of HTA development.
The recommendations cover 6 key aspects throughout the guideline development cycle:
- Setting the objectives, scope, and principles of the guideline
- Building the team for a quality guideline
- Defining the stakeholder engagement plan
- Developing content and utilizing available resources
- Putting in place appropriate institutional arrangements for implementation
- Monitoring and evaluating guideline success
Across all contexts, the recommendations emphasize transparency, building trust among stakeholders, and fostering a culture of ongoing learning and improvement. The report recommends timing development and revision of guidelines according to the HTA landscape and pace of HTA institutionalization.
“In this report, we also lay out a set of key resources and learning materials from existing literature, providing a good foundation for countries to consider what is most contextually relevant and appropriate when developing or updating their HTA guidelines,” noted Sittimart. “Our recommendations highlight the importance of adapting the content of HTA guidelines dynamically as the technology assessment system evolves, as well as the need to align measurements of guideline success with the objectives of guideline development, which will vary across jurisdictions. As HTA is increasingly used to inform diverse decision-making processes across various country contexts, it will be important to continue to monitor lessons learned in order to ensure the recommendations remain both relevant and effective.”
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