Dr.

Himanshu Baweja
Consultant-WHO Country Office
Dr. Madhur Gupta
Technical Officer-Pharmaceuticals
WHO Country Office
India
World Health Organization Executive Board paper on
Health Intervention and Technology Assessment in
Support of UHC
The definition of HTA, according to the WHO
Executive Board paper EB134/30 is:

“…..is the systematic evaluation of properties, effects

and/or impacts of health technologies and
interventions. It covers both the direct, intended
consequences of technologies and interventions and
their indirect, unintended consequences. The
approach is used to inform policy and decision-
making in health care, especially on how best to
allocate limited funds to health interventions and
technologies. The assessment is conducted by
interdisciplinary groups using explicit analytical
frameworks, drawing on clinical, epidemiological,
health economic and other information and
methodologies. It may be applied to interventions,
such as including a new medicine into a
reimbursement scheme, rolling-out broad public
health programmes (such as immunization or
screening for cancer), priority setting in health care,
identifying health interventions that produce the
greatest health gain and offer value for money,
setting prices for medicines and other technologies
based on their cost–effectiveness, and formulating
clinical guidelines”.
Introduction:
India is among the countries with the highest out of
pocket expenses on healthcare in recent years. The
way in which these available resources are allocated
across competing priorities is crucial

So, there is a growing recognition of the need for

priority setting in India as it aims to achieve
Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)-
Universal Health Coverage through Health
technology assessment.
History of Health Technology Assessment:
 Health Technology Assessment was first started 30
years ago in World Health Organization and two
regional offices (EURO and AMRO), considering HTA
a way to strengthen evidence based selection and
rational use of health technologies.
 Recently in 2013, WHO publications and Resolutions
indicate that HTA is a tool to further advance the
implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
in terms of deciding getting right intervention at
lowest possible cost.
Health Technology Assessment activities done at
WHO:
 Health Technology Assessment Survey: Information
and results to all member states.
 Health financing for Universal Coverage
 WHO guidelines approved by the guidelines review
Committee of HTA
 Evidence informed policy making
 Development of HTA Capacity in Member states
through advocacy and raising awareness on Utility of
HTA for policy makers.
Health Technology Assessment activities done at
WHO:
 WHO Country Office for India was organizing
International fellowship program on Health
Technology Assessment at Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras for training of Health Care and
Public Health Specialists in India
 This Unique fellowship program brings together
Engineers, Researchers, Healthcare Professionals,
Industry Experts and Government to form a Vibrant
and Fertile innovative ecosystem for Health
Technology Assessment.
First HTA Compendium by WHO Country
Office:
 The Health Technology Assessment Compendium
also launched jointly by WHO Country Office and
NHSRC in 2012-13 as an outcome of this HTA
fellowship program

 This First Compendium of HTA is an evidence based

approach to technology related policy making in
healthcare. It also highlights the most essential health
technologies required today for responding to India
disease burden
 5 Step-HTA process
How do we decide if How is the
What is the Decision the evidence is strong decision
problem? Topic enough to support a implemented
identification and decision? What are and monitored?
Prioritisation our
recommendations?

Defining
Analysis Appraisal Decision making Implementation
decision space

What is the decision

What is the required to be taken?
analysis needed to
help answer the
decision problem?
Health Technology Assessment in India(HTA In):
 To facilitate the process of transparent and evidence
informed decision making in the healthcare , Government
of India has created an institutional arrangement called the
Health Technology Assessment in India(HTA In) under the
Department of Health Research.
 It is entrusted with the main responsibility to collate and
generate evidence related to the Clinical effectiveness ,
cost-effectiveness, and safety of medicines, vaccines and
health programs using the Health Technology Assessment
approach.
 In Oct0ber-2018, DHR also Launched Manual on HTA.
Seven Resource Hubs Established under DHR:
 Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and
Research(PGIMER), Chandigarh
 Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and
Technology (SCTIMST),Kerala
 National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis(NIRT),
Chennai
 Regional Medical Research Centre(RMRC), Bhubaneswar
 Indian Institute of Public Health(IIPH), Shillong
 Kalam Institute of Health Technology , Vizag
 National Health Systems Resource Centre , Delhi
Conclusion:
 The drive to achieve Universal Health Coverage raises the
need to choose and manage effective technologies that are
to be adopted within countries’ health systems, particularly
in a context of limited resources.
 Developing and strengthening national capacity will have
to build on established best practices, information
exchange and collaborative approaches to make the best
use of limited resources and yield robust scientific
assessments.

 The Health Technology Assessment in India aims to

maximize access to quality healthcare at minimum cost to
the people of the country.
 Thank You!

 Disclosure : We disclose that we do not have any source of funding and

conflict of interest in presenting this topic.