Health technology assessment

Health technology assessment is the systematic evaluation of a health technology’s clinical, economic, social, and ethical effects to inform decisions about its use, coverage, or adoption.

Comparative effectiveness research: Research comparing the benefits and harms of different medical interventions in real-world or clinical settings. Its comparative evidence helps establish whether a technology improves outcomes over existing care.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: An independent body that develops health and social care guidance for England. NICE uses assessments to inform recommendations on medicines and other health technologies.
Randomized controlled trial: A study that randomly assigns participants to interventions to estimate their causal effects. Trials often provide evidence on a technology’s efficacy and short-term harms.
Health technology appraisal: A decision process that uses evidence to judge a technology’s value or suitability for a defined health system. Appraisal interprets evidence for a decision; assessment produces the broader evaluation informing it.
Real-world evidence: Evidence about health outcomes generated from data collected during routine care or other nontrial settings. It may reveal effects and harms not captured by controlled trials.
Cost-effectiveness analysis: An economic evaluation comparing the costs and health outcomes of alternative interventions. It estimates whether additional health gains justify a technology’s additional costs.
Pharmaceutical reimbursement: The process by which public or private payers decide whether and how to fund medicines. Assessment evidence often informs whether a medicine receives coverage and at what conditions.
Health economics: The study of how health and healthcare resources are produced, distributed, and consumed. Economic reasoning supplies methods for comparing costs, outcomes, and resource use.
Health technology management: The planning, procurement, use, and oversight of technologies across their operational life cycle. Management covers implementation and oversight, whereas assessment focuses on evaluating effects.
Surrogate endpoint: A substitute measure used to predict a clinical outcome of interest. Assessments must judge whether improvements in surrogate measures translate into meaningful patient benefit.

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