Institutionalizing health technology assessment in Egypt: Situational analysis and roadmap

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a situational analysis with the aim to inform future health technology assessment efforts (HTA) in Egypt.Introduction: The Egyptian government has set universal health coverage as a 2030 target. Several agencies have been created in the context of the ongoing healthcare reform. The Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement, Medical Supply and the Management of Medical Technology (UPA) is one of them and was established to support strategic procurement using HTA.Methods: Description of the development of HTA in Egypt supported by a literature search as part of a scoping exercise, and a stakeholder analysis and identification of HTA capacity survey, based on previous surveys, with relevant stakeholders conducted in 2022. This was followed by a stakeholder event where results were shared and further contextualized.Results: The UPA is expected to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of health technologies and public health programs. The HTA process is being developed, focusing on the assessment of the value of new pharmaceuticals being introduced to the Egyptian market. A total of 16 participants responded on behalf of their organizations to the stakeholder analysis and identification of HTA capacity survey. More than 80% of the respondents were familiar with current efforts conducted by UPA and strongly support the implementation of HTA in Egypt. Transparency was highlighted as an important criterion. Over 90% of the respondents mentioned economic analyses as an HTA product being developed in Egypt, and medicines were the type of technology that stakeholders ranked as first in the rank of health technologies that need the output from HTA urgently. Capability building and training were highlighted as areas in which further support is required.Conclusion: This study represents the first attempt to describe the current path for HTA in Egypt. There seems to be momentum in Egypt to proceed and advance with HTA institutionalization. It would be important that next steps are built on the skills and capabilities already in place in Egypt, ensure methods and processes are in place and up to date and involve the wider system in Egypt so stakeholders can appropriately contribute and participate in the HTA process.

Exploring the landscape of health technology assessment in Iran: perspectives from stakeholders on needs, demand and supply

“…This study provides invaluable information with Iran’s MOHME, MCLSW and government and private insurance organizations as the primary users of HTA, which is consistent with findings from precursory studies [ 1 , 22 , 25 ] and the WHO report. As custodians of health within their respective countries, these organizations bear the responsibility of providing services through the utilization of various technologies and ensuring their financial coverage.…”

“…Health technology assessment (HTA) encompasses a comprehensive and multidisciplinary process aimed at evaluating the various dimensions of a health technology’s value, which may include aspects such as clinical, economic, social and ethical considerations [ 1 ]. The primary objective of HTA is to furnish decision-makers with evidence-based information to facilitate informed healthcare policies, clinical practices and funding choices.…”

A situational and stakeholder analysis of health technology assessment in Zimbabwe

“…The policy areas with a potential need for HTA and the corresponding organizations that can use HTA outputs in Zimbabwe were identified. The policy areas and organizations that need HTA identified in this study were similar to those reported in studies carried out in Nigeria and Egypt (20;23). However, in this study, lower levels of demand for health economic and social/ethical evidence were reported across all the listed organizations.…”

“…Stakeholder mapping and analysis were independently performed by two researchers using a checklist developed by the International Decision Supportive Initiative (iDSI) (19). This checklist has recently been used to determine relevant HTA stakeholders in the Egyptian context (20), and it characterizes stakeholders into nodes, networks and, environments, based on the capacity-building framework of the iDSI (21). For each category of stakeholders, the tool suggests a set of questions that help identify relevant stakeholders for a particular country.…”

“…Other presentations were given on how decisions are made to produce essential medicine lists and treatment guidelines, establish health priorities, and determine health tariffs in Zimbabwe. After the workshop, we surveyed the workshop participants using the adapted questionnaire developed by Health Interventions and Technology Assessment (HITAP) and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) International (20). An adapted version of the questionnaire was used in similar studies in Uganda and Nigeria (22;23).…”