On Tuesday 8 March 2022, the Heads of HTA Agencies Group came together for their first face-to-face meeting since the group evolved into a standalone independent body. The meeting was hosted by Prof. Dominique Le Guludec at the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) in Paris, France.
The meeting was held at HAS headquarters and featured a number of key strategic topics including:
- The HTA Regulation (HTAR). The European Commission (DG SANTE) provided an update on the status of the HTAR and the setting up of the HTA Coordination Group (CG). This was followed by a discussion amongst members on implementation preparedness for the future EU HTA system by HTA bodies and the EC alike.
- HTA as part of joint procurement activities. The European healthcare landscape is an emerging and ever-changing field and as part of this, HAG members discussed the important role of HTA in developing EU joint procurement activities. Further discussion on how to implement HTA as part of joint procurement activities was considered needed.
- The inclusion of new members. The HAG was setup to be a transparent, collaborative and open group which includes members from as many EU/EEA Member States as possible. As part of this, the group has developed a strategy which sets out internal guidance on how new members will be incorporated into the group. This strategy was adopted by members of the group during the meeting and more information is available here.
- Principles of cooperation on HTA. During the meeting, members of the HAG also endorsed the document; General principles of good cooperation in the field of health technology assessment. The two-page position paper outlines a set of common principles of HTA cooperation which HAG members agree to follow as well as recommendations on what constitutes good conduct within the field of HTA. The document is available here.
Members of the HAG have now also formally signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding. This is available here.
For more information about the HAG, including its history and objectives, click here.
