Health officials are working on a plan to use health technology assessment (HTA) in attaining universal health coverage and reaching the goal of “Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020.”
In his opening statement during the HTA Workshop yesterday, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go said universal health care is not possible without effectiveness, efficiency and equity in health care systems.
He hoped that at the end of the workshop, a framework would be drawn up on how HTA can support the APEC communities’ thrust on universal health care as well as regional action points to support and reinforce each other in terms of capacity-building, information-sharing, and complementation of HTA initiatives.
“This will also be an opportunity for each economy to partner with HTA organizations as what we have done in the Philippines in recent years working with organizations like NICE International, HITAP (Thailand), HTasiaLink and the WHO,” he said.
He stressed the need to collaborate at the local, regional and global levels to maximize limited HTA resources. HTA is defined by the World Health Organization as the evaluation of properties, effects and impact of drugs, devices, and medical and surgical procedures used in health care.