Resource Centre for Health Technology Assessment (RC-HTA)

Introduction:

Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn) is an institutional body established in year 2017, under the Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW). The purpose of HTAIn is to design and institutionalise Health Technology Assessment (HTA) that embodies modern best international practice which features transparent, inclusive, fair and evidence based decisions.

HTA is a multidisciplinary process that gathers policy relevant evidence about the medical (clinical effectiveness), economic (cost effectiveness), social and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, inclusive, transparent and robust manner to assist policy makers in decision making while formulating policies for incorporating or excluding health interventions from the health system.

The HTA evidences would serve as an important tool in prioritising national health spending on various health technologies. Health Technology is defined as application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives. This includes pharmaceuticals, devices, procedures, and organizational systems used in the healthcare system, as well as computer-supported information systems.

History:

The need to establish a Medical Technology Assessment Board (MTAB) was recommended by 12th Plan Working Group on Health Research and also by the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) in its 12th Plan document on Social Sector. The Standing Committee of Parliament in its 56th Report on the Examination of Demand for Grant of DHR for the year 2012-13 has emphasized early setting up of MTAB. The National Health Policy, 2017 has also highlighted the importance of HTA by stating ‘One important capacity with respect to introduction of new technologies and their uptake into public health programmes is health technology assessment’. Department of Health Research, therefore, decided to establish a mechanism for Health Technology Assessment for evaluation of appropriateness and cost effectiveness of available and new health technologies in the country as part of research governance mandate of the Department.

Objective of The Scheme/Regional Resource centers HTAIn:

• To undertake HTA studies aiming at maximizing health in the population, reducing out of pocket expenditure (OOP) and reducing inequity.
• To support the process of decision-making in health care at the Central and State policy level by providing reliable information based on scientific evidence
• Develop systems and mechanisms to assess new and existing health technologies by a transparent and inclusive processes.
• To appraise health interventions and technologies based on available data on resource use, cost, clinical effectiveness, and safety.
• To collect and analyse evidence in a systematic and reproducible way and ensure its accessibility and usefulness to inform health policy.
• Disseminate research findings and resulting policy decisions to educate and empower the public to make better informed decisions for health.

Regional Resource Center of HTAIn at ICMR-NIV, Pune :

Department of Health Research, had set up Regional Resource centers in collaboration with various State Governments in the institutes administered by the Centre/ State governments. Regional Resource Centre for Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn) at Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Virology, Pune (Maharashtra) is one of the resource centres in India. This resource centre is being established in October 2019 with the support of Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The principal investigator of the Regional Resource Center of HTAIn at ICMR-NIV, Pune is Dr Yogesh K. Gurav (Scientist E & Group Leader, Dengue Chikungunya Group) who has been trained at Mahidol University, Bangkok Thailand for undertaking the HTA research.

Activities

• The resource centre at ICMR-NIV Pune will provide technical support for undertaking Health Technology Assessment (HTA) research in India for the research topics approved by the DHR.
• To provide necessary input and technical support to DHR for developing a policy perspective for HTA for use in public health programs in the country specially related to viral diseases.
• To promote introduction and assessment of new and existing health technologies in the system and will provide support for adoption of health technologies.
• To contribute in building the capacity in the country towards Health Technology Assessment by undertaking training/workshops/seminars etc.