What is HTA

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What is HTA?
Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
What is HTA?

• and why should I care?

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• The NHS Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
  Programme provides the scientific information on
  clinical and cost-effectiveness that is required
  to determine whether technologies should be
  encouraged into, or discouraged from, routine
  clinical practice.

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• The programme is recognised as a global leader
  in this area. It aims to ensure that high
  quality research information on the costs,
  effectiveness and broader impact of health
  technologies is produced in the most efficient
  way for those who use, manage, provide care in
  and develop policy in the NHS.

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Technologies assessed by the HTA programme
  include medical devices, equipment, drugs,
  procedures, talking therapies and rehabilitation
  measures.

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• The Review finds that a substantial proportion
  of the escalating information needs of the NHS
  could be met by expanding the HTA programme to
  enable delivery of large improvements in the
  quality and efficiency of healthcare in the NHS.
• To enhance the evidence base informing decisions
  on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of
  technologies in the NHS, the Review therefore
  recommends an expansion of the NHS HTA programme
  to fund these developments, which, for a
  relatively modest investment, could deliver large
  improvements in the quality and efficiency of
  healthcare in the NHS.

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Funding Streams
• Commissioned programme (1993 - )
• Investigator driven programme (2006 - )

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Types of research funded
• Primary research
• RCTs
• Other well designed studies
• Secondary research
• Systematic reviews
• Modelling, including economic modelling
• Methodological work

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Similarities and differences?
• Similarities
• Quantitative emphasis
• Underlying logic of experimentation
• Use of randomisation

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Differences 1
• Pragmatic not explanatory
• Cost-effectiveness as well as effectiveness
• Only ever about people
• Acceptability usually (though not always)
  important

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Differences 2
• May need very large numbers
• May need different designs, eg cluster
  randomisation
• Investigator has much less experimental control
• Blinding may be impossible
• Etc Etc

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• Best places to spot inexperience? 1
• Sections on
• Recruitment of participants
• Retention of participants
• Sample size calculation
• Data collection, eg number of measures
• Specification of intervention
• Delivery of intervention (feasibility,
  acceptability etc)

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• Best places to spot inexperience? 2
• Description of any qualitative component
• Assertions regarding behaviour of health care
  professionals and other staff not employed on the
  project, for example
• GPs will (enter a long list of tasks).

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• Best places to spot inexperience? 2
• Description of any qualitative component
• Assertions regarding behaviour of health care
  professionals and other staff not employed on the
  project, for example
• GPs will (enter a long list of tasks).
• ..Oh no they wont!!!

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Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

• For further information
• www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
• (and search on Cooksey)
• www.hta.ac.uk