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Evaluation of Ethical Analyses in Seven Reports from the European Network for Health Technology Assessment

Part of: Special Collection - Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2019

Perihan Elif Ekmekci  and
Müberra Devrim Güner
Perihan Elif Ekmekci*
Affiliation:
TOBB ETU Medical School, Department of History of Medicine and Ethics
Müberra Devrim Güner
Affiliation:
TOBB ETU Medical School, Department of Medical Pharmacology
*
Author for correspondence: Perihan Elif Ekmekci, E-mail: p.ekmekci@etu.edu.tr
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Abstract

Objectives

Ethics has been considered among the core domains of health technology assessment (HTA), but there are still disputes regarding ethical analysis. This study aimed to examine full final reports of the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) in terms of their compliance with the ethical methodology and ethical perspective of the HTA Core Model®.

Methods

The study examines seven full final HTA reports of EUnetHTA written based on the methodology proposed in the HTA Core Model®. The reports were analyzed using the following parameters: competency of the person/group who conducted ethical analysis, assessment elements, and the methodology of ethical analysis.

Results

The results show that, although the HTA Core Model® helped to standardize the final reports of the assessment, there are still concerns regarding the competency of the ethical analysis team, the perspectives on the purpose of ethical analysis, data sources and viewpoints of various stakeholders, use of ethical analysis methodology, and the evaluation of the ethical appropriateness of the entire HTA process.

Conclusions

The HTA Core Model® helped to standardize the final reports on the HTA; however, not all issues with the content and outcomes were solved. The lack of expertise in ethics and insufficiency of the teams regarding ethical analysis are other existing problems. This study also demonstrated that stakeholder viewpoints in general and patient perspectives, in particular, have been overlooked in the HTA process.

Keywords

Health technology assessmentEthical analysisMethodologyEthical expertise
Type
Method
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , 2019 , pp. 273 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors

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