European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) is a network, established to create an effective and sustainable structure for health technology assessment (HTA) across Europe that could develop and implement practical tools to provide reliable, timely, transparent and transferable information to contribute to HTAs in Member States. [1]
The overall strategic objective of the network is to connect public national/regional HTA agencies, research institutions and health ministries, enabling an effective exchange of information and support to policy decisions by the Member States.
EUnetHTA consists of a total of 83 organisations from 27 EU member states plus Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the UK. As part of the EUnetHTA governance structure, an annual Forum has been formed to ensure a transparent engagement with a broad range of stakeholders: representatives from patient and healthcare consumer organisations, healthcare providers, payers (statutory health insurance) and the industry.
The EUnetHTA Joint Action 2 (2012–2015) continued the activities of Joint Action 1 (2010–2012) on October 1, 2012, and developed a general strategy, principles and an implementation proposal for a sustainable European HTA collaboration according to the requirements of Article 15 of the Directive for cross-border healthcare. EUnetHTA Joint Action 3 (2016-2021) increased the use, quality and efficiency of joint HTA work at the European level. EUnetHTA 21 (2021-2023) work will build on the achievements and lessons learned from the EUnetHTA Joint Actions and focus on supporting a future EU HTA system under the HTA Regulation.
EUnetHTA supports evidence-based, sustainable, and equitable choices in healthcare and health technologies and supports re-use in regional and national HTA reports and activities.
To develop a voluntary, sustainable European Collaboration on HTA, the model focusses on supporting Members States in receiving HTA-relevant information that is objective, reliable, timely, and comparable.
Detailed information on EUnetHTA 21, its history and ongoing developments, can be found at the EUnetHTA website.
The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, formerly known as the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office, is the European Commission's department for overseas humanitarian aid and for civil protection. It aims to save and preserve life, prevent and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises. Since September 2019, Janez Lenarčič is serving as Commissioner for Crisis Management in the Von der Leyen Commission, and since 1 March 2023, Maciej Popowski leads the organisation as the Director-General.
The European Structural and Investment Funds are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy. They aim to reduce regional disparities in income, wealth and opportunities. Europe's poorer regions receive most of the support, but all European regions are eligible for funding under the policy's various funds and programmes. The current framework is set for a period of seven years, from 2021 to 2027.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, is based in Parma, Italy, and for 2021 it has a budget of €118.6 million, and a total staff of 542.
The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) is a health services research centre based at the University of York, England. CRD was established in January 1994, and aims to provide research-based information for evidence-based medicine. CRD carries out systematic reviews and meta-analyses of healthcare interventions, and disseminates the results of research to decision-makers in the NHS.
The European Institute for Health Records or EuroRec Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 as part of the ProRec initiative. On 13 May 2003, the institute was established as a non-profit organization under French law. Current President of EuroRec is Prof. Dipak Kalra. The institute is involved in the promotion of high quality Electronic Health Record systems in the European Union. One of the main missions of the institute is to support, as the European authorised certification body, EHRs certification development, testing and assessment by defining functional and other criteria.
Health technology assessment (HTA) is a multidisciplinary process that uses systematic and explicit methods to evaluate the properties and effects of a health technology. Health technology is conceived as any intervention at any point in its lifecycle. HTA aim is to inform "decision-making in order to promote an equitable, efficient, and high-quality health system". It has other definitions including "a method of evidence synthesis that considers evidence regarding clinical effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness and, when broadly applied, includes social, ethical, and legal aspects of the use of health technologies. The precise balance of these inputs depends on the purpose of each individual HTA. A major use of HTAs is in informing reimbursement and coverage decisions by insurers and national health systems, in which case HTAs should include benefit-harm assessment and economic evaluation." And "a multidisciplinary process that summarises information about the medical, social, economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, transparent, unbiased, robust manner. Its aim is to inform the formulation of safe, effective, health policies that are patient focused and seek to achieve best value. Despite its policy goals, HTA must always be firmly rooted in research and the scientific method".
Patient participation is a trend that arose in answer to medical paternalism. Informed consent is a process where patients make decisions informed by the advice of medical professionals.
The European Aerospace Cluster Partnership (EACP) is a permanent partnership between collaborating European aerospace clusters. The consortium currently comprises 45 aerospace clusters from 18 different countries and was initiated by the city of Hamburg in 2009 and co-funded by the European Commission.
The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare (IQWiG) is a German agency responsible for assessing the quality and efficiency of medical treatments, including drugs, non-drug interventions, diagnostic and screening methods, and treatment and disease management. IQWiG also supplies health information to patients and the general public.
The European Health Management Association (EHMA) was established in 1982 and is a non-profit membership organisation. Its focus is on health management capacity and capabilities and on supporting the implementation of health policy and practice.
The nation of Austria has a two-tier health care system in which virtually all individuals receive publicly funded care, but they also have the option to purchase supplementary private health insurance. Care involving private insurance plans can include more flexible visiting hours and private rooms and doctors. Some individuals choose to completely pay for their care privately.
Soil governance refers to the policies, strategies, and the processes of decision-making employed by nation states and local governments regarding the use of soil. Globally, governance of the soil has been limited to an agricultural perspective due to increased food insecurity from the most populated regions on earth. The Global Soil Partnership, GSP, was initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its members with the hope to improve governance of the limited soil resources of the planet in order to guarantee healthy and productive soils for a food-secure world, as well as support other essential ecosystem services.
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a systematic decision support process, aiming to ensure that environmental and possibly other sustainability aspects are considered effectively in policy, plan and program making. In this context, following Fischer (2007) SEA may be seen as:
Model for assessment of telemedicine (MAST) is a framework for assessment of the value of telemedicine.
Guidances for statistics in regulatory affairs refers to specific documents or guidelines that provide instructions, recommendations, and standards pertaining to the application of statistical methodologies and practices within the regulatory framework of industries such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices. These guidances serve as a reference for statisticians, researchers, and professionals involved in designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting studies and trials in compliance with regulatory requirements. These documents embody the prevailing perspectives of regulatory agencies on specific subjects. It is worth noting that in the United States, the term "Guidances" is used, while in Europe, the term "Guidelines" is employed.
The Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services previously the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment is an independent Swedish governmental agency tasked with assessing and evaluating methods in use in healthcare and social services. SBU is tasked with summarizing and communicating evidence and is a knowledge center for both healthcare and social services in Sweden. The agency performs review by systematically searching the literature, evaluating, assuring quality, and weighing together results. SBU does not carry out any original research beyond meta-analysis, systematic review or health technology assessment (HTA). It is one of the world's oldest HTA agencies that started conducting systematic reviews in 1987.
The National Documentation Centre is a Greek public organisation that promotes knowledge, research, innovation and digital transformation. It was established in 1980 with funding from the United Nations Development Programme with the aim to strengthen the collection and distribution of research-related material, and to ensure full accessibility to it. It has been designated as a National Scientific Infrastructure, a National Authority of the Hellenic Statistical System, and National Contact Point for European Research and Innovation Programmes. Since August 2019, it has been established as a discrete public-interest legal entity under private law, and is supervised by the Ministry of Digital Governance. The management bodies of EKT are the Administrative Board and the Director who, since 2013, has been Dr. Evi Sachini.
TIFAC is an autonomous organization set up in 1988 by the government of India under the Department of Science & Technology to: look ahead in technology domain; assess the technology trajectories; and support innovation by networked actions in select areas of national importance. It is also called Government of India's technology think tank.