Health technology assessments (HTAs) are designed to inform safe and effective health policies that are both patient-focussed and achieve best value. HTA is a multi-disciplinary activity and is resource-intensive. The impact or influence of the HTA Directorate activity should be evaluated to assess its value, and whether its contribution to decision making is proportionate to the resources used to deliver it.
In 2019, the HTA knowledge sharing and influence measurement framework was developed and approved by the Board of HIQA. The framework outlines a broad set of metrics capturing different facets of knowledge sharing and influence across all HTA Directorate activity. In 2020, the work of the HTA directorate was broadly classified into five main work streams:
- HTA
- Evidence synthesis by Health Research Board – Collaboration in Ireland for Clinical Effectiveness Reviews (HRB-CICER) to support the development of national clinical guidelines
- Evidence for Policy (EfP)
- Evidence synthesis and evidence-informed advice to support the work of the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC)
- Evidence synthesis and evidence-informed advice to inform the national public health response to COVID-19.
This report documents the findings of the impact evaluation of the work conducted in 2020 by the HTA directorate. The purpose of the report is to demonstrate the effectiveness of our work and ensure transparency.