The implementation of the 2021-2024 HTA Methodology Program by the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development

To give researchers more tools to assess healthcare innovations' efficiency and demonstrate the effectiveness of novel technologies, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), in collaboration with the National Health Care Institute (ZIN), initiated the new HTA Methodology Program for 2021-2024.

The 2021-2024 HTA Methodology Program aims to develop HTA-related research designs, methods of analysis, and outcome measures for existing care and care innovations to improve research into the efficiency of care. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport makes a maximum of €1,500,000 annually (total budget of €6,000,000) to implement the Program.

The HTA Methodology program for 2021-2024 will focus on methodologies for the assessment of a wide variety of innovations, such as genetic testing, implants, medicines, medical aids, and e-health, as well as for interventions that have existed for a much longer time and that have now been given a new light.

The Program has the following targets:

• Development of methodology that is useful for researchers, innovators, insurers, healthcare providers, and the government to evaluate the value of existing and new healthcare interventions in an appropriate manner
• Contribution to the decision-making about the appropriate use of medical innovations and their inclusion into the basic insurance package and the implementation of existing care
• Contribution to the further development of innovative research designs and analysis techniques that enable assessment in situations with, for example, little evidence data available
• The further development of outcome measures that can also be used to assess the effectiveness of care in situations where the main concern is improving the well-being of patients, such as a long-term care
• A learning guide in the form of a structured overview to help innovators, healthcare providers, and researchers to determine which research designs, analysis methods, and outcome measures are appropriate

The framework for implementation of the Program includes:

• Round 1 (2021): knowledge gap analysis and elaboration of the Program
• Round 2 (2022): development of a learning guide
• Round 3 (2023): mid-term evaluation of a learning guide
• Round 4 (2024): update of a learning guide

On November 4, 2021, the ZonMw published the gap analysis of needs of important stakeholders (including innovators, healthcare providers, researchers, healthcare insurers, patients, administrators) regarding HTA and formulate recommendations that can provide guidance for the 2021-2024 HTA Methodology Program.

The gap analysis included the following steps:

• An overview of the experiences and needs of relevant stakeholders at HTA-related research and assessment methods, analysis techniques, and outcome measures (methods);
• A list of urgent knowledge questions (knowledge agenda) that can contribute to improving appropriate research and collecting appropriate evidence;
• A first overview of existing methodologies to give direction to an educational guideline that helps stakeholders to properly conduct future HTA research shape.

The final evaluation of the Program outcomes is scheduled for 2026.

The full details in Dutch can be found here.

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