Toward greater efficiency and equity in healthcare resource allocation: Dr Panos Kanavos to lead consortium in ADVANCE_HTA European Commission FP7 grant

Healthcare policymaking is increasingly driven by the need to reconcile mounting healthcare system demands with constrained resources. This is particularly true for medical technologies such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, which comprise a sizeable proportion of healthcare budgets. In the health policy sphere, efforts to match resources with demands are often centred on devising and implementing policies that deliver greater value for money. The undertaking of value assessments for medical technologies by way of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is one such policy lever that can be deployed in achieving this end. Through the rigorous evaluation of clinical and pharmaco-economic evidence, together with relevant stakeholder perspectives, HTA endeavours to inform healthcare resource allocation and decision-making at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels of the healthcare system.