title: Combining multi-criteria decision analysis and mini-health technology assessment: A funding decision-support tool for medical devices in a university hospital setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  At the hospital level, decisions about purchasing new and oftentimes expensive medical devices must take into account multiple criteria simultaneously. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is increasingly used for health technology assessment (HTA). One of the most successful hospital-based HTA approaches is mini-HTA, of which a notable example is the Matrix4value model.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop a funding decision-support tool combining MCDA and mini-HTA, based on Matrix4value, suitable for medical devices for individual patient use in French university hospitals - known as the IDA tool, short for 'innovative device assessment'.
  
  
  METHODS
  Criteria for assessing medical devices were identified from a literature review and a survey of 18 French university hospitals. Weights for the criteria, representing their relative importance, were derived from a survey of 25 members of a medical devices committee using an elicitation technique involving pairwise comparisons. As a test of its usefulness, the IDA tool was applied to two new drug-eluting beads (DEBs) for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The IDA tool comprises five criteria and weights for each of two over-arching categories: risk and value. The tool revealed that the two new DEBs conferred no additional value relative to DEBs currently available.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Feedback from participating decision-makers about the IDA tool was very positive. The tool could help to promote a more structured and transparent approach to HTA decision-making in French university hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, AP-HP, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France; University Paris-Sud, GRADES, Faculty of Pharmacy, 5 rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92290 Châtenay-Malabry, France. Electronic address: nicolas.martelli@aphp.fr.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: University Paris-Sud, GRADES, Faculty of Pharmacy, 5 rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92290 Châtenay-Malabry, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Evaluation Unit, General Agency of Equipment and Health Products, AP-HP, 7, rue du Fer à Moulin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudard
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Evaluation Unit, General Agency of Equipment and Health Products, AP-HP, 7, rue du Fer à Moulin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Cordonnier
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, AP-HP, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Capucine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Devaux
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, AP-HP, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pineau
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, AP-HP, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prognon
authors.affiliation: University Paris-Sud, GRADES, Faculty of Pharmacy, 5 rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92290 Châtenay-Malabry, France; Department of Health Economics, Gustave Roussy Institute, 114, rue Edouard-Vaillant, 94805 Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Borget
mesh_terms: D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008490:Medical Informatics; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical
keywords: Hospital; Medical devices; Mini-health technology assessment; Multi-criteria decision analysis