Supervisors info:
Υφαντόπουλος Ιωάννης, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Πολιτικής Επιστήμης και Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
ABSTRACT/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Scope: In the particular thesis current and suggested methodologies on Health Technology Assessment are evaluated with an emphasis on NICE’s processes and methodologies, in an attempt to identify areas of improvement that could be applied to a Greek Health Technology Assessment organisation.
Methodology: A questionnaire was developed in order to explore the views of some key stakeholder groups (doctors, pharmacists, healthcare professionals and the public) with respect to the organisational structure and role of HTA in Greece and its potential relationship to other national or European HTA bodies. The respondents were also consulted on the applicability of a number of socioeconomic criteria in HTA and, due to its relevance to the above-mentioned criteria, local production of pharmaceuticals. The results collected were subsequently analysed with the software ΙΒΜ SPSS Statistics, v.25 (IBM, 2017).
Results: The results indicate interest of the key stakeholder groups in a Greek HTA body, part of a European network, in collaboration with other national HTA bodies, able to evaluate all therapeutic interventions and not just pharmaceuticals. For the evaluation, socioeconomic criteria were found to be less important to the respondents than those referring to the actual treatment (safety/efficacy of the treatment, seriousness of the disease). Finally, 60% of the respondents indicated willingness to pay more for a locally produced pharmaceutical compared to an imported one.
Conclusion: In spite of the significant improvements of the methodological models, the more systematic approaches and the steps towards consolidation with regards to HTA in Europe, there are certain methodological issues that have been identified, which if addressed should lead to an optimisation of HTA. Resolving many of these issues cannot have a significant impact on HTA in Greece due to its embryonic nature, however, certain interventions could be of significant value to economies with limited resources, such as that of Greece.
Keywords:
Greece, Health Technology Assessment, HTA, CUA, cost utility analysis, CBA
