In Brazil, the National Committee for Health Technology Incorporation in the public health system (CONITEC) advises the Ministry of Health about incorporation, exclusion and alteration of health technologies in Brazilian public health system (SUS). Decision making considers multiple criteria, included or not in legislation. This analysis was the first step for a multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) building. This study aims to identify criteria that influence Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for SUS.

Five real cases of controversial recommendations of technology incorporation made by CONITEC were reviewed by listening to the plenary recordings and reviewing committee minutes. The choice was guided by convenience, with prioritization according to CONITEC's members, using a pre-defined standardized form. Weight in decision making was also raised and identified. Selected technologies judgments were: Trastuzumab for metastatic/advanced Breast Cancer; Fingolimod for Multiple Sclerosis; Clozapine, Lamotrigine, Olanzapine, Quetiapine and Risperidone for Bipolar Affective Disorder; Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for Sickle Cell Disease; and Positron Emission Computed Tomography (PET-CT) for Lung Cancer and for hepatic metastasis from Colorectal Cancer.

The choice of different technologies allowed verifying specific criteria used for the incorporation of each type of technology, as well as the similar criteria discussed and used by all these technology types. In addition, some identified criteria were specific to the Brazilian reality, such as: “Incorporation by other countries”, “Potential technologies without registration in Brazil” and “Off-label use”. These criteria were not previously identified in studies conducted in other countries. Some criteria have been identified in all decisions, such as: efficacy, disease severity, quality and confidence in the evidences, logistic challenges for implementation, unmet needs, budget impact and treatment costs. Relative impact of cost-effectiveness was considered low.

CONITEC's recordings are an important source to understand the Brazilian decision-making process. To identify the important criteria can help to standardize and improve the HTA process.