Transcript Document

The involvement of
patients in Health
Technology Assessment
Andrzej Rys
Director
Health and Consumers Directorate-General
Brussels
18 May 2010
Presentation outline
A starting point: core priorities
Why should patients be involved in
HTA?
Commission actions to include
patient groups in HTA
The way forward on HTA in Europe
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A starting point:
Three core priorities stated by
Commissioner Dalli in the field of
health:
Patients first
Innovation in health
Sustainability of health systems
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All three priorities are highly relevant in
the context of Health Technology
Assessment:
Patients first: Which health interventions
provide the best patient outcome?
Innovation in health: Which innovative
technologies contribute most to improved
health? Are they better than existing
technologies?
Sustainability: An HTA can also include a
comparison of the costs involved when using
different technologies. This makes it possible
to consider how to balance public budgets.
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When planning health care, European
countries have increasingly used Health
technology assessments as one of their
planning tools the last years.
Issues like the quality of health
interventions, the effectiveness of different
treatments as well as the need for
containing health costs have all triggered
this increase.
Used properly, HTA can improve the
scientific basis health decision-makers
base their policies upon. This includes
decisions on whether or not to invest in new
technologies.
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Today's European Union, although having a
common market as one of its foundations, is
not a common health market.
27 health systems exist, with their own ways
of providing and financing health care.
For industry, this is sometimes seen as a
challenge. When they try to get market
access for their health innovations, they
must work with 27 health systems in
parallel. Which in many cases mean that
industry must contribute to the production of
parallel HTA's.
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The Commission and the member States
themselves believe in the European added
value in HTA cooperation: Better
coordination and information sharing
between Member States is helpful not only
for countries with limited HTA resources, but
for all member states.
Why? Because it can reduce duplication of
work. In addition European cooperation
might lead to better HTA's considering rare
diseases.
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Commissioner Dalli has expressed a
particular interest in the promotion of the EU
cooperation on HTA because he is convinced
of the strong added value and of the
concrete deliverables that can be reached.
In this respect, Commissioner Dalli and my
services are working on long term possible
scenarios that could make this cooperation
sustainable
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Why should patients be involved in HTA?
A central element in the Commission's
HTA initiatives is to focus on the
relative effectiveness of health
interventions: Which health
innovations contribute to better
health outcomes when used in
everyday health services?
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Why should patients be involved in HTA?
DG Sanco has a long tradition of
involving European Citizens – be that
as consumers or patients.
When addressing the issue of HTA, we
believe in the active involvement of
patients in HTA undertakings – as
individual experts, but also through
patient organisations.
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Commission actions to include patient
groups in HTA
The Commission has supported European
cooperation on HTA since 2006. Our present
main initiative, the Joint Action on HTA
2010-2012, will be presented later today.
I would like to thank EPF for your strong
interest in being an active stakeholder in this
joint action.
In addition to this, we see the need to
increase knowledge of HTA among
particularly patient organisations and
health professionals. We therefore plan to
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initiate targeted actions addressing this.
The way forward on HTA in Europe
Let me finish by saying a little on
future HTA cooperation in Europe.
The Commission believes that a
sustainable cooperation structure
should be established, and will during
the next years consider how this
should be organised.
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The way forward on HTA in Europe
In any case, we find it important that
such structure includes a clearly
defined and open stakeholder policy
– where European patients and their
networks have a role to play!
I hope this seminar will increase
knowledge among all participants
concerning HTA cooperation in Europe,
and that it will serve as an impetus for
patient organisations particularly in
defining their role in European HTA
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work.