Health technology assessments (HTAs) are policy analysis frameworks contributing to the approval, reimbursement, and rollout of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. New innovations in health technologies expose gaps in reimbursement and implementation guidelines. We defined two types of emerging health technologies: (1) therapeutic innovations, such as drug-device combination products or nondrug alternatives to prescription drugs and (2) disruptive health innovations such as novel surgeries and gene replacement therapies. We aimed to determine delineated definitions for these categories through a comprehensive review of HTA guidelines across 20 nations. Utilizing databases such as International Network of Agencies for HTA, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, and European Medical Agency, we identified products falling within these categories. Real-world case studies highlighted the inadequacies stemming from the absence of clear definitions and proposed solutions to enhance current HTA guidelines. These shortcomings apply at the state or provincial level in addition to national jurisdictions as existing funding structures and silos fail to accommodate the unique attributes of these technologies.

A reflective analysis is presented on the potential added value that actuarial science can contribute to the field of health technology assessment. This topic is discussed based on the experience of several experts in health actuarial science and health economics. Different points are addressed, such as the role of actuarial science in health, actuarial judgment, data inputs and their quality, modeling methodologies and the use of decision-analytic models in the age of artificial intelligence, and the development of innovative pricing and payment models.

Health technology assessment (HTA) agencies assess evidence to support decision making about which technologies to provide and pay for in the health system. HTA impact is understood as the influence that HTA report findings can have in the health system, including impacts on reimbursement decisions, changes to health outcomes, or broader system or societal impacts. The International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) is a global network of publicly funded HTA agencies. INAHTA’s mission, in part, is to advance the impact of HTA to support reimbursement decisions and the optimal use of health system resources. Each year, INAHTA awards the David Hailey Award for Best Impact Story to the member agency that shares the best story, as voted by fellow members, about HTA impact. The impact story sharing program in INAHTA contributes to a deeper understanding of what works well (or not so well) in achieving HTA impact. This paper provides six impact stories from agencies that were finalists for the 2021 and 2022 David Hailey Impact Award for Best Impact Story: the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux, the Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section, Ontario Health, the Center for Drug Evaluation, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and Health Technology Wales. These stories demonstrate that HTA agencies can, in differing ways, effectively support governments in their efforts to place evidence at the centre of decision making.