Functions
Draft Guidelines for the Economic Evaluation of Health Technologies in Ireland
What are these Economic Guidelines?
The Economic Guidelines represent one component of the planned overall Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Guidelines. They are limited to the methodological guidance on the conduct of economic assessments in the Irish healthcare setting.
What is the purpose of the guidelines?
The purpose of the Economic Guidelines is to promote the production of assessments that are timely, reliable, consistent and relevant to the needs of the decision makers within the publicly-funded health and social care system in Ireland. It is recognised that the findings of these assessments may also have implications for other key stakeholders in the Irish healthcare system. These include patient groups, the general public, clinicians, other healthcare providers, academic groups and the manufacturing industry.
Who will use these Guidelines?
The Guidelines are intended to inform economic evaluations conducted by, or on behalf of the Health Information and Quality Authority and the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, to include health technology suppliers preparing applications for reimbursement. The Guidelines are of relevance to those conducting economic evaluations elsewhere in the system and as a reference source for those using economic evaluations to inform decision making.
How have these Guidelines been developed?
These draft Guidelines have been developed by the HTA directorate in consultation with their Scientific Advisory Group. They are informed by existing Economic Guidelines and the published literature. Once finalised, it is intended that these Guidelines will replace the existing ‘Irish Healthcare Technology Assessment Guidelines, 2000.’
Next steps
Feedback on these draft guidelines has now been received and is currently being reviewed.
HTAi 7th Annual Meeting Dublin 2010
We were delighted to host the 7th Annual Meeting of the Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi). Supporting healthcare decision making is the cornerstone of health technology assessment. In increasingly challenging economic conditions, budgets for HTA may be subject to scrutiny or restrictions while the role of HTA in optimising the use of healthcare resources to maximise patient outcomes is more important than ever. The conference allowed healthcare practitioners, researchers, policy makers, administrators, industry representatives, consumer organizations, consultancies and other stakeholders explore how best to maximise the value of HTA.
The selection of Dublin, Ireland as the venue for this prestigious conference in 2010 afforded delegates from all over the world a unique opportunity to come together in this fantastic cosmopolitan city for what was an inspiring event.
We are proud to have hosted this conference on behalf of HTAi.
About Health Technology Assessment
The Health Information and Quality Authority will lead Health Technology Assessment in Ireland. Many of the aspects of HTA are new to Ireland and will be developed in line with national and international practice - Ireland is one of the few developed countries with no systematic processes for evaluating the clinical and cost effectiveness of its health services.
The Health Information and Quality Authority, in setting up Ireland's first Health Technology Assessment function, is responsible for making sure that the resources in our health services are used in a way that ensures the best outcome for the patient or service user.
We will do this by assessing the clinical and cost effectiveness of the medicines, devices, diagnostics, and health promotion used across our health system.
These assessments include the evaluation of social and ethical issues, quality of life and quality of end of life and cost effectiveness in relation to Health Technology.
The outcomes of these assessments will allow us to support the Minister for Health & Children to make informed decisions on the desirability and effectiveness of investing in new therapies, drugs, equipment or health promotion activities. We will also advise on the rationale for continuing with existing practices to ensure that people are not being treated with outdated therapies, drugs or procedures.
The Health Technology Assessment Function will also work with organisations undertaking similar work in Ireland and internationally. In Ireland, the Authority is working closely with the National Pharmacoeconomic Centre and internationally with the European Network for HTA.
Having regard to international developments, and undertaking research will help inform our work in ensuring the most appropriate care for the public and the delivery of value for money from our health services.
Health Technology Assessments completed by the Authority include:
- Health Technology Assessment on the Role of Vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in Reducing the Risk of Cervical Cancer in Ireland
In Ireland, approximately 180 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year, with over 70 women dying from the disease. Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the largest risk factor for contracting cervical cancer, with two subtypes of the virus in particular, HPV types 16 and 18, contributing to over 70 percent of all cases.
Read more about the Role of Vaccination against HPV in Reducing the Risk of Cervical Cancer
- A Health Technology Assessment of a Population-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Ireland. An average of 2040 new cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed each year during the period 2002 and 2005, with an average of 925 deaths occurring each year during the same period. Screening for colorectal cancer reduces both the relative risk and the mortality of colorectal cancer by allowing the identification and removal of precursor lesions and by the detection of malignancies at an earlier, more treatable stage.
Read more about Population-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme
Report of the Evaluation of the use of resources in the national population-based cancer screening programme and associated services
Scientific Advisory Group
The current Irish Guidelines for Health Technology Assessment are in the process of being updated. A Scientific Advisory Group has been convened to advise the Authority during this process with the aim of producing an updated version of the guidelines in 2009. The Group has broad representation from key stakeholders. Details of Group membership are provided along with the Terms of Reference of the Group. The draft guidelines will be made available for public consultation before they are finalised.