HARMONIZING HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS: TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE MINI-HTA MODEL SUITABLE IN THE FRENCH CONTEXT?. (5th June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Martelli, Nicolas; Devaux, Capucine; van den Brink, Hélène; Billaux, Mathilde; Pineau, Judith; Prognon, Patrice; Borget, Isabelle
• Is Part Of: International journal of technology assessment in health care. Volume 33:Number 2(2017)
• Page Start: 307
• Page End: 314
• Publication Date: 2017-06-05
• Subjects: Medical devices, -- Hospital, -- Innovation, -- Mini-health technology assessment; Medical technology -- Periodicals; Technology assessment -- Periodicals; 610.28
• DOI: 10.1017/S0266462317000393
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0266-4623

Abstract

Abstract : Background: The number of new medical devices for individual use that are launched annually exceeds the assessment capacity of the French national health technology assessment (HTA) agency. This has resulted in hospitals, and particularly university hospitals (UHs), developing hospital-based HTA initiatives to support their decisions for purchasing innovative devices. However, the methodologies used in such hospitals have no common basis. The aim of this study was to assess a mini-HTA model as a potential solution to harmonize HTA methodology in French UHs. Methods: A systematic review was conducted on Medline, Embase, Health Technology Assessment database, and Google Scholar to identify published articles reporting the use of mini-HTA tools and decision support-like models. A survey was also carried out in eighteen French UHs to identify in-house decision support tools. Finally, topics evaluated in the Danish mini-HTA model and in French UHs were compared using Jaccard similarity coefficients. Results: Our findings showed differences between topics evaluated in French UHs and those assessed in decision support models from the literature. Only five topics among the thirteen most evaluated in French UHs were similar to those assessed in the Danish mini-HTA model. The organizational and ethical/social impacts were rarely explored among the surveyed models used in French UHs when introducing new medical devices. Conclusions: Before its widespread and harmonized use in French UHs, the mini-HTA model would first require adaptations to the French context.