HTx is a European Commission funded Horizon 2020 project launched in 2019 aiming to create a framework for the Next Generation Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to support patient-centered, societally oriented, real-time decision-making on access to and reimbursement for health technologies throughout Europe. Digestive Cancers Europe CEO Zorana Maravic recently represented the patient voice in a panel discussion in Pula, Croatia. It was a part of a workshop facilitating the transferability of HTx methods and policy recommendations on patient engagement to HTA (and policy decisions) from Western European countries to Central and Eastern European countries.

As one of the activities of this project, on the 2nd of June, in Pula (Croatia), Medical University Sofia and Syreon Research Institute jointly organised the policy workshop. Different stakeholders coming from across Europe participated in the lively discussion on the barriers to patient involvement in different countries, but it was also valuable to learn about best practices that exist in some western European countries.

Two panel discussions were organised. The first one comprising of patient experts and advocates coming from Central and Eastern Europe. Aside from Tamás Bereczky (Patvocates and EUPATI ts Germany), Ivica Belina (Coalition of Health Associations in Croatia) and Cristian Andriciuc (Romanian Federation of Diabetes Associations), Zorana Maravic, DiCE CEO, participated in this discussion. The second panel gathered experts and policymakers from the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and others.

During the workshop, the draft recommendations were presented and challenged by panel members. Amended recommendations will be shared with workshop participants and later published in a scientific, peer-reviewed journal. We look forward to the final outcomes of the project and improving the practices of patient involvement into HTA across Central and Eastern Europe.

To learn more about this project, please visit the project's dedicated website.