News — Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—January 14, 2025— announced today the publication of a tripartite task force report outlining good practices for developing or updating health technology assessment (HTA) guidelines. The report, “,” will be copublished in January 2025 in ISPOR’s flagship journal and in the , the official journal of HTAi.”

 “Health technology assessment (HTA) guidelines are intended to support successful implementation of HTA by enhancing consistency and transparency in concepts, methods, processes, and use, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the decision-making process,” said author Manit Sittimart, MSc, Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand. “HTA guidelines should reflect the local HTA landscape and infrastructure to ensure practicality and successful implementation. Getting stakeholders engaged and on the same page can produce guidelines that are adopted and used as an evolving reference for HTA in the country. To date, no specific guidance exists for the development and successful adoption of high-quality HTA guidelines, aside from clinical guidelines. This report fills the gap by laying out good practices and practical recommendations for developing or updating HTA guidelines to ensure successful implementation.”

The report was developed under a joint working collaboration between Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), HTAsiaLink, and ISPOR. It focuses on HTA guidelines that are developed at the national, sub-national, or cross-country level. In particular, the report aims to highlight when different approaches may be appropriate for individual contexts and stages of HTA development.

The recommendations cover 6 key aspects throughout the guideline development cycle:

  1. Setting the objectives, scope, and principles of the guideline
  2. Building the team for a quality guideline
  3. Defining the stakeholder engagement plan
  4. Developing content and utilizing available resources
  5. Putting in place appropriate institutional arrangements for implementation
  6. Monitoring and evaluating guideline success

Across all contexts, the recommendations emphasize transparency, building trust among stakeholders, and fostering a culture of ongoing learning and improvement. The report recommends timing development and revision of guidelines according to the HTA landscape and pace of HTA institutionalization.

“In this report, we also lay out a set of key resources and learning materials from existing literature, providing a good foundation for countries to consider what is most contextually relevant and appropriate when developing or updating their HTA guidelines,” noted Sittimart. “Our recommendations highlight the importance of adapting the content of HTA guidelines dynamically as the technology assessment system evolves, as well as the need to align measurements of guideline success with the objectives of guideline development, which will vary across jurisdictions. As HTA is increasingly used to inform diverse decision-making processes across various country contexts, it will be important to continue to monitor lessons learned in order to ensure the recommendations remain both relevant and effective.”  

 Suggested Reading:

###

ABOUT ISPOR

(HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field.
 |   |  |    |    |    

ABOUT VALUE IN HEALTH
(ISSN 1098-3015) is an international, indexed journal that publishes original research and health policy articles that advance the field of health economics and outcomes research to help healthcare leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal’s current impact factor score is 4.9 and its 5-year impact factor score is 5.6. Value in Health is ranked 5th of 118 journals in Health Policy and Services, 15th of 174 journals in Health Care Sciences and Services, and 56th of 597 journals in Economics. Value in Health is a monthly publication that circulates to more than 55,000 readers around the world.
  |

ABOUT ISPOR GOOD PRACTICES REPORTS
ISPOR has earned an international reputation for research excellence based, in part, on its . These highly cited reports are expert consensus recommendations on good practice standards for outcomes research (clinical, economic, and patient-reported outcomes) and on the use of this research in healthcare decision making. comprise subject matter experts representing different stakeholders from diverse work environments (i.e., regulators, payers, manufacturers, technology assessors, etc. from research, government, academic, and industry sectors around the world). All ISPOR Good Practices Reports are published in the Society’s scientific journal, , and are made freely available as part of the Society’s mission. The Society’s Good Practices Reports have been recognized with an ASAE “Power of A” award that acknowledges innovative, effective, and broad-reaching programs that have a positive impact on the world.