Evidence for HTA: Innovative methods for challenging times

14 Oct 2020 12:52 PM

Dalia Dawoud, Scientific Adviser at NICE Science, Evidence and Analytics Directorate explains NICE’s role as co-host of HTAi 2021 in the UK.

Dalia Dawoud, Scientific Adviser at NICE Science, Evidence and Analytics Directorate explains NICE’s role as co-host of HTAi 2021 in the UK, her part in planning the scientific programme and how the meeting will encourage debate and discussion around the latest advances in defining, generating and using evidence in healthcare decision making

Next year NICE will co-host the 18th Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Annual Meeting from 19-23 June in Manchester, UK. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is defined as “a multidisciplinary process that uses explicit methods to determine the value of a health technology at different points in its lifecycle. The purpose is to inform decision-making in order to promote an equitable, efficient, and high-quality health system” (the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA)).   

HTA agencies like NICE around the world assess the value of new health technologies and advise on whether or not, and how a technology might be used effectively within a healthcare system. The hybrid meeting, with the option to participate virtually, will bring the global HTA community together to network, collaborate and forge new partnerships.

At NICE we have been working closely with HTAi to bring together a programme which is framed around the main theme of ‘Innovation through HTA’. This theme reflects the changing times we live in, the rapid pace at which technology advances and of course the swift global response which has been forced by COVID-19.

During International Scientific Programme Committee meetings, there has been an extensive range of suggested discussion topics which has made my role extremely challenging, but also interesting! I worked with the HTAi secretariat, International Scientific Programme Committee and its working groups to pull together the vast array of discussion points, issues for exploration and questions into three cohesive plenary themes:  

As NICE is an official partner of the inaugural World Evidence-based Healthcare Day coming up on 20 October, it seems fitting that the HTAi 2021 Annual Meeting will provide a unique opportunity for both those generating and those using the evidence to come together and discuss the key issues relating to the evolving evidence ecosystem.

The first plenary theme, ‘Evidence for HTA: Innovative methods for challenging times’, will examine how the rapid pace and scale of technological development, have led to traditional approaches to evidence production, review and synthesis being seen as potentially hindering the innovation process and delaying access to innovative health technologies. This plenary aims to drive forward ongoing debate on how the evidence eco-system is, and should continue, changing and adapting to meet the HTA and healthcare systems’ challenges of today, and tomorrow. 

If you are keen to join us at HTAi 2021, you can find out more about the meeting themes and how to submit an abstract by visiting the meeting website. Abstract submissions for oral, poster and vignette presentations are currently being accepted and the deadline is Thursday 26 November.

We look forward to your participation!