What is the EU HTA Regulation?

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is the process of assessing the added value of new health technologies (e.g. medicines, medical devices) compared to current standards of care. The main aim of HTA is to provide policymakers with information to formulate sound, evidence-based health policies. The EU HTA Regulation provides for joint work at the EU level on the clinical effectiveness and safety of new health technologies compared to existing technologies. Non-clinical areas, such as economic evaluation and ethical or social aspects, will remain responsible for national HTA bodies.

A key empowerment of the HTA Regulation (applicable to oncology treatments from January 2025) is the mandatory involvement of patients in joint technology assessments (EU level). In contrast to national HTA processes, which often exclude patients, this involvement will utilise patients’ direct knowledge of side effects and impact on quality of life for a more comprehensive assessment, making them an integral part of the healthcare decision-making process.

How can patients learn about HTA and the EU regulation?

EUPATI currently offers a catalogue of free-to-use HTA courses in the Open Classroom. Recently, they added a new course on the EU HTAR that explains in detail the joint work, the different working groups and much more. Start your self-paced learning now, designed to be accessible to all: https://bit.ly/3x4Am6N 

EUCAPA proposes different types of training (introductory, fast-track, extended) on HTA. Find out more here: https://www.eucapa.eu/

What’s to come?

Keep your eyes peeled! EUPATI will offer online training sessions on EU HTAR from September onwards. Register your interest here: https://lnkd.in/diH5YGtu

Training materials and the Open Classroom course will be translated into five additional languages: Czech, French, German, Greek and Spanish.

You can find out more about both projects here: https://lnkd.in/dZdRyp8V.

Author:
Aleksandra Kaczmarek