Visit to the Department of Health, Philippines, to support Health Technology Assessment

This is a promising time for the advancement of evidence and use of health technology assessment (HTA) in the Philippines. The HTA unit, STEP (Sentro ng Pagsusuri ng Teknolohiyang ngkalusugan), is currently conducting three studies to support national decision-making: 1) the economic evaluation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) options; 2) the economic evaluation of human immunodeficiency virus/acute immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) screening for pregnant women; and, 3) the feasibility and budget impact study of ultrasound screening. These studies are paving the way for new ones that are in the pipeline. The Philippine Pharmaceutical Division, under which the STEP is housed, is also preparing the HTA process and methods guidelines, which will form the basis for all HTA activities in the country.

A study visit was conducted to the Philippines on June 4-9, 2019 by a team from the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) to support the final stakeholder consultation and write-up of the RRT study as well as the progress of the human immunodeficiency virus/acute immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and ultrasound screening studies’ proposals. This visit was conducted under the aegis of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI). Further, the HITAP team also provided support to developing the first drafts of the process and methods guidelines. Finally, the partners discussed future collaborations between the Philippines and Thailand. These will be through: signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the partnership; capacity building for Philippine partners at all levels (from policy makers to providers to researchers); “learning-by-doing” support to researchers through mentorship and supervision support for studies being conducted for use in policy; and continued support for growth in the long-term.

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