US, UK and Canada HTAs convene the Health Economics Methods Advisory

The USA-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) have formed the Health Economics Methods Advisory (HEMA) initiative. The goal of HEMA is to critically and independently research some of the most pressing topics in global health economics and health technology assessment (HTA) methods.

The HEMA initiative brings together an independent working group comprised of research experts, academics, and methodologists in health economics HTA that have both theoretical and practical experience in supporting HTA. The HEMA working group will examine issues that are expected to include topics that are related to health economic methods. HEMA’s selection and prioritization of topics will be guided by a separate steering committee, with representation from the patient, payer, and life sciences communities across all three countries.

The ICER’s chief scientific officer and director of health technology assessment methods and engagement, Dan Ollendorf, stated: “Through this international collaboration, we are looking forward to examining the benefits and disadvantages of new methods in health economics and HTA. There is a need for independent research that can not only critically examine these topics but also assess their feasibility and practicality in HTA settings.”