Remit
An HTA body must have a defined remit which will determine what technologies it will or will not assess. The remit of an HTA body also influences many other aspects of the HTA process, including how the HTA body interacts with organisations other than decision-makers, what level of transparency is feasible or required, and the involvement of external people in its processes. The way an HTA body is positioned in a healthcare system plays a key role in the determination of its remit. HTA bodies may exist in different organisations – for example, they may be part of a health ministry, a quality council, or a stand-alone legally mandated entity.
The following list provides some relevant ‘points to consider’ that an HTA organisation may need to address in order to develop a ‘good’ HTA process. The list of questions is not comprehensive – depending on where the organisation is and who it is supporting, there may be other things to consider.
- Organisation:
- How is the HTA body regulated?
- What is the relationship with government?
- Are there legal or policy constraints?
- Remit:
- What technologies require a recommendation by an HTA body?
- What assessments are required?
- How are third parties (e.g., patients) involved?
- What is the level of transparency and accountability?
- Methods and processes:
- What aspects (domains) are assessed? (e.g., ethical, economic)
- How are analyses conducted?
- Assessment and
Recommendation:
- Is an expert committee required?
- What is the link to the decision-maker?
- What are the priorities of the decision-maker?
- Decision
- What is the decision-making procedure?
- What are the decision outputs? (e.g., yes/no)?
- Dissemination:
- To whom are the recommendations given?
- In what timeframe?
- What is the content of communication?
- Implementation:
- How are decisions implemented?
- What is the result of a recommendation?
- Impact:
- Who is being impacted?
- What is a relevant measure of impact?