Medical technologies are evolving rapidly, with many new and expensive technologies entering the market constantly, challenging the sustainability of the public healthcare system. Early health technology assessment (HTA) to inform subsidy decision for innovative medical technologies, before they diffuse into the public healthcare system, may drive appropriate early adoption or curtail inappropriate use. This abstract describes the Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE)’s experience in conducting early HTAs and key challenges faced.

During ACE’s 2021 topic prioritization exercise, ACE took a proactive approach by considering medical technologies identified from horizon scanning (HS) for subsidy evaluation. Two topics were shortlisted from HS. Standard HTA evaluation framework and local clinician consultation were used to define the evaluation scope and clinical pathways. Literature search and appraisal were conducted for safety, effectiveness, and economic evidence. Budget impact estimations and organizational feasibility assessment were additional domains considered for subsidy decision-making by the Ministry of Health Medical Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC).

MTAC did not recommend subsidy for the two technologies due to weak evidence base, largely due to a lack of comparative evidence, small samples, short-term follow-ups, or heterogeneity of population. Additional considerations included potentially high budget impact or organizational feasibility issues such as substantial capital and maintenance cost and infrastructure reconfiguration required. During the evaluation, key challenges of assessing such technologies in their early diffusion within the healthcare system were: (i) differing clinical opinions on whether the technology meets an unmet need; (ii) uncertain place in the clinical management algorithm for the relevant indications; (iii) sparse and weak evidence; (iv) uncertain financial implications to the healthcare system due to a lack of available local costs.

Early HTA on medical technologies identified from HS can be a useful tool to guide subsidy decisions; however, several challenges exist. Careful selection of technologies and timing of evaluation are critical. Seeking stakeholder inputs earlier would ensure shortlisting appropriate technologies with greater clinical need for HTA.