Course Description
Why is it important to assess health technologies? Health technologies include medicines, vaccines, medical and surgical procedures, medical devices, diagnostic and imaging tests, and public health programs. Health technologies are key elements in the delivery of health services. In this course, students will learn key frameworks, methods, and tools for assessing the value of these technologies and communicating their benefits and possible harms. This course provides the opportunity to develop and practise real-world skills, including identifying and appraising literature to assess the safety and effectiveness of a technology; planning and conducting a health technology assessment; and communicating findings meaningfully to inform health policy and clinical practice. Students will develop an understanding of the role of other key components, including economic evaluation, ethical analysis, organisational and implementation considerations, and public and patient engagement and involvement in decision-making. By the end of this course, students will have the confidence to interpret published HTAs, recognise when it might be appropriate to conduct or commission one, conduct a simple HTA, and make recommendations for adopting or implementing a health technology within a health service.
Learning Outcomes
- Distinguish between major approaches to health technology assessment, as appropriate to different policy and health service contexts.
- Conduct basic systematic searching for evidence on the safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a health technology.
- Conduct basic critical appraisal of evidence on a health technology.
- Demonstrate how evidence on health technologies is synthesised for policy makers.
- Recognise the impact of ethical issues, and the importance of stakeholder involvement - including patient and public engagement - in decisions around access to, and funding of, health technologies.
Learning Experience
Topics
- Introduction to Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
- Technologies on the Horizon, and Entering the Market
- Funding, Reimbursement and Disinvestment Decisions
- Introduction to HTA Methods and Translating the Policy Question to an HTA Research Question
- Searching the Literature and Collecting the Evidence
- Critical Appraisal of Study Design and Execution for Individual Primary Studies in HTA
- Critical Appraisal of the Body of Evidence and Secondary Research
- Data Extraction and Evidence Synthesis (Narrative and Quantitative/Meta-analysis)
- Economic Evaluation in HTA
- Ethical Considerations in HTA
- Producing HTA Outputs and Communicating HTA Findings to Policymakers
- Involving Patients and the Public in HTA Decision Making
Development Team
Andrew Gardner
Course Author
Collaborator
Brianna Morello
Course Author
Collaborator
Tracy Merlin
Course Author
Lead
Drew Carter
Course Author
Collaborator
Camille Schubert
Course Author
Collaborator
Danielle LeMieux
Learning Designer
Lead
Zac Vandersman
Digital Education Developer
Lead
Assessments
-
Introduction to HTA
Short Answer Questions, Multiple Choice Questions
Learners complete a short online quiz to assess their understanding of the basic principles of health technology assessment.
15%
-
Literature Search
Critical Analysis
Learners conduct a literature search using the PubMed database. They base their search on appropriate PICO criteria and submit the evidence of the search strategy, process and findings.
20%
-
Critical Appraisal
Critical Analysis
Learners conduct a critical appraisal of a published paper to demonstrate their ability to identify and apply relevant tools to appraise the quality of peer-reviewed literature for use in an HTA report.
25%
-
Integrated Hospital-Based HTA
Report
In this task learners conduct an evaluation of a new health technology for use in a hospital or clinical setting. They demonstrate their skills and understanding of health technology assessment (HTA) to produce a clear policy brief, summary of the relevant information to inform a purchasing decision and an evidence-based recommendation for the new health technology.
40%