title: The use of non-economic criteria in pricing and reimbursement decisions in Central and Eastern Europe: issues, trends and recommendations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  According to some experts, there is still room for improvement with regard to the inclusion of ethical considerations in Health Technology Assessment (HTA).
  
  
  METHODS
  The pros and cons of the introduction of non-economic criteria in the HTA process in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are discussed. In comparison to Western Europe, financial considerations are even more important in CEE settings; however, it could also be said that attachment to equity and justice is part of CEE's heritage. Therefore, the trade-off between conflicting principles is evaluated. Expert commentary: To ensure the right balance between equity and efficiency in decision making, the current HTA framework has to be further augmented to allow all conflicting criteria to be addressed to a satisfactory degree. Following other examples, the applicability of multi criteria decision analysis technique to CEE settings should be further investigated.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Public Health , Nicolaus Copernicus University, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz , Bydgoszcz , Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kolasa
authors.affiliation: b Department of Health Policy and Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University , Budapest , Hungary.|c Syreon Research Institute , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kalo
authors.affiliation: d Health Economics and Outcomes Research, ZRx Outcomes Research Inc , Toronto , Canada.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zah
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D005060:Europe; D005061:Europe, Eastern; D006801:Humans; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends
keywords: Central and Eastern Europe (CEE); Health technology assessment; cost effectiveness threshold; equity and justice; equity- efficiency trade-off; non-economic pricing and reimbursement criteria; pricing and reimbursement