Visit by Delegation from the Department of Health, Philippines to conduct health technology assessment (HTA) studies

As part of the pursuit of universal health coverage (UHC), the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) has been taking concrete steps to institutionalize Health Technology Assessment (HTA), a mechanism that enables the integration of evidence in policy making for health investments, and a fair priority-setting process among stakeholder groups. In line with this, DOH sought the assistance of the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) to develop and strengthen HTA capacity in the country.

With the support of UNICEF and under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) through the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) Plus, HITAP is providing technical assistance to the DOH’s HTA office through various capacity building projects, including three HTA studies on priority topics identified by DOH and PhilHealth, the agency entrusted with achieving UHC. The topics are economic evaluations of renal replacement therapy (RRT) and universal screening of human immunodeficiency virus/acute immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) for pregnant women, and feasibility of ultrasound screening among pregnant women. To work on the three topics, HITAP invited researchers from the HTA unit called the HTA Study Group and later, STEP (Sentrong Pagsusuring Teknolohiyang Pangkalusugan), to come to HITAP for a four-day visit in April 2019.

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