Background Progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage and institutionalizing healthcare priority setting through health technology assessment (HTA) in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region varies considerably across countries because of differences in healthcare expenditure, political support, access to health information and technology infrastructure. To explore the status and capacity of HTA in the region, the ASEAN Secretariat requested for member countries to be surveyed to identify existing gaps and to propose solutions to help countries develop and streamline their priority-setting processes for improved healthcare decision-making. Methods A mixed survey questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions relating to HTA governance, HTA infrastructure, supply and demand of HTA and global HTA networking opportunities in each country was administered electronically to representatives of HTA nodal agencies of all ASEAN members. In-person meetings or email correspondence were used to clarify or validate any unclear responses. Results were collated and presented quantitatively. Results Responses from eight out of ten member countries were analysed. The results illustrate that countries in the ASEAN region are at different stages of HTA institutionalization. While Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have well-established processes and methods for priority setting through HTA, other countries, such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, have begun to develop HTA systems in their countries by establishing nodal agencies or conducting ad-hoc activities. Discussion and conclusion The study provides a general overview of the HTA landscape in ASEAN countries. Systematic efforts to mitigate the gaps between the demand and supply of HTA in each country are required while ensuring adequate participation from stakeholders so that decisions for resource allocation are made in a fair, legitimate and transparent manner and are relevant to each local context.

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of health technology assessment (HTA) in Malaysia over the past decade.MethodsWe described the evolution of HTA program in Malaysia based on review of administrative data, publicly available information and quantitative description of impact evaluation.ResultsHealth Technology Assessment HTA was formalized in Malaysia in 1995 as a central structure within the Ministry of Health, Malaysia in 1995. Expansion of activities demonstrated over the years including Horizon Scanning of health technologies and implementation of evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines. Improvement on the processes in terms of types of report, quality, monitoring, and impact evaluation as well as accessibility was also carried out. Examples of impact/influence of the reports have also been demonstrated.ConclusionsHTA program in Malaysia has evolved over the past decades. Its role in policy formulation and decision making of health technologies has become more significant over the years and is foreseen to be bigger in the future. As a trusted source of evidence, HTA in Malaysia will continue to strengthen the health system by advocating informed decision making and value-based medicine. As other countries in this region is trying to establish their own HTA processes and procedures, this review on the evolution of the HTA program in Malaysia might give some insights on developing a sustainable HTA program.

The safety, efficacy, and economic implications of using transnasal oesophagoscopy (TNE) are compared with conventional rigid or flexible oesophagoscopy for oesophageal disorders in otorhinolaryngology (ORL) clinics in this systematic review. Eleven electronic databases were searched for articles on transnasal oesophagoscopy. A total of 67 relevant titles were identified and 39 abstracts were screened of which 17 full- text articles were included in this report. There was fair level of evidence to suggest that TNE was effective for screening examination in patients with dysphagia, globus pharyngeus, and reflux symptoms and for detection of metachronous oesophageal carcinoma. TNE can also be used to biopsy suspicious lesions in the upper aerodigestive tract, placement of wireless pH capsule, transnasal balloon dilation of the oesophagus, secondary tracheoesophageal puncture, and management of foreign bodies. TNE was well tolerated and can be safely performed in an office setting with topical anaesthesia. Complications associated with TNE were mild and uncommon. There was evidence to suggest potential cost savings by performing TNE in the office setting compared with conventional investigation and examination for dysphagia. TNE may lead to a change in practice from investigation and treatment in the operating theatre or day care center to an office-based practice.

Background: In Malaysia, breast cancer is the most common cancer in females and also the first most common cancer among population regardless of gender. The percentage of breast cancer detected at stage I and II was 61%, another 27% with locally advanced cancer and 11% with late stage metastatic cancer. From the total, 28% are human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive and access to targeted therapy (trastuzumab) was very limited; only 19% of eligible patients could be treated. Aim: To determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) between chemotherapy plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy alone as adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer from Malaysian perspective. Methods: A Markov cohort simulation was developed using Microsoft Excel Workbook 2007 to estimate the cost-utility of adjuvant trastuzumab compared with chemotherapy alone for treatment of early breast cancer with HER2 positive status. Two adjuvant treatment strategies were evaluated: 1) chemotherapy plus trastuzumab and 2) chemotherapy alone as adjuvant treatment. This Markov model was projected to lifetime horizon. All costs and outcomes were discounted at 3% and the cost-effectiveness result was expressed in ICER. One-way sensitivity analysis was performed to address the uncertainty. Results: The base case analysis indicated that 1-year adjuvant trastuzumab treatment generates a deterministic ICER of RM 83,544.59 per QALY gained. Over the lifetime, there is a marginal cost increase of RM 85,659.10 and a marginal benefit of 1.025 QALYs per patient when trastuzumab is added to standard chemotherapy compared with no trastuzumab strategy. Based on one-way sensitivity analysis, these components have shown to be a sensitive parameter for ICER determination: discount rate, disease-free state utility, route of trastuzumab administration and cost of trastuzumab. Conclusion: Addition of 1-year treatment with trastuzumab on top of standard adjuvant chemotherapy is considered as a cost-effective strategy for early breast cancer with HER2 positive, yielding an ICER of RM 83,544.59 per QALY gained, which is within the suggested value of cost-effectiveness threshold by WHO (1-3 times GDP per capita). However, if suggested threshold for Malaysia is taken into consideration, this treatment may not be a cost-effective strategy.