The concept of health technology assessment. Views of applicants to funding of HTA projects.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of the content of health technology assessment (HTA) among health professionals applying for a state grant of DKK 10 million.


METHODS
A total of 113 applications were received and analyzed. When conducting the analysis, it was assumed that the applicants' maximum five-page project description would reflect: a) the applicants' perception of what an HTA is; b) how the assessment was to be conducted; and c) what the results were going to be used for.


RESULTS
More than 40% of all applications focused on treatment; in 51% only one or two professional groups were to be involved (thus interdisciplinarity was questionable); only 22% of the HTA cases were intended to form the basis for political/administrative decisions; in general, the HTAs were planned far less comprehensively than was relevant; 76% of the projects did not include a formal synthesis phase; 41% intended to use diffusion as the only method for publication of the HTA result.


CONCLUSIONS
The analysis reveals several areas where DIHTA has to make an effort in order to secure that HTA in fact constitutes a comprehensive and well-documented basis for decision making. These areas concern the following topics: multidisciplinarity, the objective of HTA, comprehensiveness, the synthesis phase, and publication and utilization of the HTA result.
Lange
M
M
Danish Institute for Health Technology Assessment.
Jørgensen
T
T
Kristensen
F B
FB
Stilvén
S
S
D003718:Denmark; D006801:Humans; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D012107:Research Design; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical