Health Care Technology Assessment

The role of technology in the cost of health care is a primary issue in current debates concerning national health care reform. The broad scope of studies for understanding technological impacts is known as technology assessment. Technology policy makers can improve their decision making by becoming more aware, and taking greater advantage, of key trends in health care technology assessment (HCTA). HCTA is the systematic evaluation of the properties, impacts, and other attributes of health care technologies, including: technical performance; clinical safety and efficacy/effectiveness; cost-effectiveness and other economic attributes; appropriate circumstances/indications for use; and social, legal, ethical, and political impacts. The main purpose of HCTA is to inform technology-related policy making in health care. Among the important trends in HCTA are: 1) proliferation of KCTA groups in the public and private sectors; 2) higher standards for scientific evidence concerning technologies; 3) methodological development in cost analyses, health-related quality of life measurement, and consolidation of available scientific evidence (e.g., meta-analysis); 4) emphasis on improved data on how well technologies work in routine practice and for traditionally under-represented patient groups; 5) development of priority-setting methods; 6) greater reliance on medical informatics to support and disseminate HCTA findings.