Health technology assessment (HTA), also known as healthcare technology assessment or medical technology assessment, is the systematic evaluation of the properties, intended and unintended effects and/or impacts of health technologies and interventions (Batarrita, 1999; Banta, 2009). It is an investigative process that evaluates the clinical (effectiveness and safety), economical (cost or cost-effectiveness), ethical, and social consequences of using new or existing technologies in health with the main goal of improving “value for money” in health care (Banta, 2009; Kristensen et al., 2009). Health technologies can be any intervention in health with the aim of promoting health and prevent, diagnose, or treat disease, examples include: drugs, devices, procedures, and the organizational, educational, informational, and support systems within which health care is delivered to the population (Banta, 2009). HTAs are useful to a wide range of decision makers in healthcare: government policy makers, insurance companies, and other payers, industries, planners, administrators, clinicians, and patients. Although the goal of HTA is to support policy decision and not sole knowledge generation, it must be carried out with integrity and using solid scientific methods to yield valid results (Banta, 2009).
Autoria: Bethânia de Araújo Almeida, Maria Yury Ichihara, Robespierre Dantas da Rocha Pita, Dandara Ramos, Rosemeire Leovigildo Fiaccone, Mauricio Barreto.