The Heads of HTA Agencies Group (HAG) met in Cologne, Germany for their second annual meeting on 9 June 2022. The meeting, kindly hosted by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWIG), saw the admission of three new HTA organisations into the group, bringing the total membership base to 23. The three new members are:
- The Greek National HTA Committee (MOH GR).
- The National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania (NAMMDR).
- The Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU).
The Greek National HTA Committee (MOH GR) was established in Greece in 2018 and belongs to the Ministry of Health. The HTA Committee consists of 11 regular members, including a Chair (Head) and Vice-Chair, appointed by the Minister of Health. Members of the HTA Committee have expertise or professional experience in at least one scientific field related to HTA such as pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics, therapeutic protocols/clinical registries, etc. The HTA Committee is the only public body responsible for HTA assessment of medicinal products in the country. The head of the HTA Committee, Prof. Flora Bacopoulou, will represent Greece in the Heads of HTA Agencies Group.
The National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania (NAMMDR) is the competent authority in the assessment of health technologies and has a number of key duties which include, but are not limited to; developing and periodically reviewing national methodological guidelines for assessment of health technologies and formats of HTA reports, developing and implementing priority-setting mechanisms related to HTA and collaborating with other professional bodies in the healthcare system. NAMMDR will be represented by Dr. Răzvan Mihai Prisada, who is currently serving as President of the agency.
The Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) is an independent national authority, tasked by the Swedish government with assessing healthcare and social service interventions from a broad perspective, covering medical, economic, ethical and social aspects. Since 1987, SBU has, as the Swedish national HTA agency, had the mandate to assess any intervention performed in the Swedish healthcare service. SBU will be represented in the HAG by the Director General of the organisation, Dr. Susanna Axelsson.
