The Health Information and Quality Authority has today published Guidelines for the Economic Evaluation of Health Technologies in Ireland. The Guidelines, while aimed primarily at health technologies, provide an economic assessment model that can be applied across the Irish health system.

Speaking at the publication of the Guidelines, the Authority’s Director of Health Technology Assessment Dr Mairin Ryan said, “Economic evaluations based on these Guidelines will provide ‘value for money’ information to those making decisions about the allocation of health resources and will supply the evidence to support why decisions are made.

“The Authority’s Economic Guidelines show how to estimate the cost-effectiveness of treatments, including relative cost-effectiveness of alternatives where appropriate. In particular they can be used to identify therapies that are worth providing and those that are not.

“The organisation of good healthcare is also about good financial management and this includes the principles of economic evaluation. The need for value for money in the provision of healthcare services is now more pressing than ever before, and how decisions are made to ensure the best use of the resources available is of paramount importance.

“The Guidelines outline the best methods for conducting economic assessments. They provide the people within the publicly-funded health and social care system who have to make these hard decisions with the information they need to make the best possible decision. This is to ensure that the resources available can be used in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public.”

Dr Ryan added, “The Economic Guidelines can be used to see whether or not treatments represent good value for money and are cost-effective. They will enable decision makers to establish the impact of new or existing treatments on budgets and on the broader health and social care systems. Crucially, they can help ensure the best outcome for the people using these services by examining the cost-effectiveness of drugs, medical equipment, diagnostic techniques and health promotion activities.

“The Authority believes that these Economic Guidelines are important for all those carrying out economic evaluations in order to deliver a better quality service to the public. We strongly believe that if applied robustly they can bring tremendous benefits to people using our health and social care system.”

Further Information: 

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
01 8147481 / 086 2447623
mwhelan@hiqa.ie

Notes to the Editor: 

The purpose of the Guidelines for the Economic Evaluation of Health Technologies in Ireland is primarily to assist those conducting or using economic evaluations as part of health technology assessment (HTA) in Ireland. The overall objective is to produce HTAs that provide decision makers with information that is useful, relevant and timely.

The Guidelines will apply to all healthcare treatments, including medications, procedures, medical devices, and broader public health initiatives. They are relevant to the assessment of both new and existing healthcare technologies.
It is recognised that the findings of any such HTA will have implications for patient groups, the public, clinicians, independent healthcare providers, academic groups and the manufacturing industry, as well as the publicly funded healthcare system.

The Guidelines have been developed by the Authority with technical input from the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and in consultation with the Authority’s (HTA) Scientific Advisory Group, and following a targeted consultation with key stakeholders.

The Guidelines have been approved by the Board of the Authority and submitted to the Minister for Health and Children for her consideration. The Guidance is the first section of a series of documents. The Authority will be developing other related documents that will include guidelines on the budget impact, social, ethical and organisational aspects of HTA.

The Authority envisages that these guidelines will contribute to the debate around best use of healthcare resources in Ireland and will help lead to improved efficiencies and savings.