MANILA, Philippines — To   guide decision-making processes on technologies and health policies at the national level, the Department of Health (DOH) in partnership with the National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, and the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program in Thailand recently held  a three-day Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Workshop and Policy Symposium.

The Universal Health Care (UHC) Law institutionalizes HTA, a priority setting mechanism which recommends health technology and benefit packages to be adopted.

Participants were given hands-on workshops on economic modelling and obtaining utility values to gain a deeper understanding of HTA methods and processes.

The workshops also covered ethical, legal and social implications of HTA.

The policy symposium, on the other hand, focused on the political economy of UHC and how HTA has evolved in support of UHC, how HTA can serve as a guide for policy makers in identifying high value health technologies for the adoption of the government, and the demand and supply of HTA, as well as the impacts of its use in different countries.

The HTA training and policy symposium convened participants from different countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Senegal representing different sectors in the public, private, and non-government organizations.

The speakers, panel discussants, and training assistants comprised a mix of individuals from both the international and local organizations. (STACY ANG/IAMIGO/Currentph.com)