September 14, 2015

Professors Garrison and Babigumira Conduct Summer Health Technology Assessment Workshops for ISPOR Chapters in Kenya and Uganda

Professors Lou Garrison and Joseph Babigumira traveled to Kenya and Uganda in July and August of 2015, to conduct Health Technology Assessment (HTA) workshops for the local country chapters of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).  Health technology assessment (HTA) is a process to estimate the value of a health intervention or health technology on service delivery.  The results inform policy decisions on where to allocate resources to improve health outcomes and quality of life.

Workshop participants in both countries were drawn from ISPOR members who are employed in academic institutions, health ministries, and non-governmental organizations.

In each country, the workshops began with a presentation of the principles of health economics and the importance of HTA for healthcare delivery decision-making.  The discussion then focused on readiness to establish a formal HTA body at the central level.  If the country is not yet ready, when will it be ready?  Where would the HTA body be located within the current government structure?  How much independence and autonomy should it have?  What are the current barriers to establishing a formal HTA body?

In Uganda, the ISPOR chapter plans to periodically organize HTA training sessions, conduct a stakeholder mapping of who should be involved in HTA, and mobilize and sensitize policy makers so that an HTA body is established.

In Kenya, the ISPOR Secretariat agreed to draft an HTA policy paper and present it at their next chapter meeting in October 2015.