Medical technology assessment

From the Health Economics Glossary

Medical technology assessment (MTA), also called health techonology assessment (HTA) is an important tool in the examination of short- and long-term consequences of the application of health technologies. New and existing technologies are compared with respect to clinical efficacy, clinical effectiveness, costs, ethics and legality. The ultimate goal of the MTA is to provide objective, valid and reliable information to healthcare professionals and policymakers, on for example therapeutic interventions, diagnostic interventions, prevention programs, and pharmaceuticals.

As a consequence of rising health care costs, efficient budget allocation is increasingly gaining importance. Governments are seeking information on the relative efficiency of health care strategies in order to rationalize their policies and increase the efficiency of the health care sector. Similarly, information on the cost-effectiveness of strategies for diagnosis and treatment is continuously gaining ground in daily medical practice and is incorporated into recommendations and guidelines for the efficient provision of health care.

MTA evaluates medical technologies from a broad societal perspective. It considers the effects of medical technologies on the current or future state of health of the patients involved (e.g. life expectancy or quality of life) as well as the costs of intervention borne by society (such as direct medical costs, costs to patients/families, and productivity losses). By relating the effects to the costs, the cost-effectiveness of the medical technology can be determined.

See also health economics academic research centers