The most recent discussions of the HTAi Policy Forum are being showcased in this issue of our Journal. The topic of adaptive approaches to technology management has been a policy area of continuing importance and relevance to health technology assessment agencies and policy makers as well as industry. The latest Policy Forum publication (Husereau et al., in this issue) demonstrates that the discussions at the meeting about this complex topic were very wide indeed.
Our HTAi Policy Forum is unique in providing the opportunity for senior people from organizations in the public and private sector to discuss HTA topics of strategic importance in a safe and nurturing environment. Discussions during Policy Forum meetings usually reveal a wide range of views. Indeed a key attribute of the Forum is that it manages to make participants feel sufficiently safe that they air their genuine perspectives, having been informed by excellent briefing papers and expert commentaries. In this way, the Forum manages to identify fundamental issues associated with the topic, highlight where viewpoints align and differ and provide commentary on key actions needed to make progress.
From its inception, the Policy Forum has not shied away from tackling difficult topics. The publications developed from Policy Forum discussions (Reference Hutton, Trueman and Henshall1–Reference Henshall and Schuller8) are well worth reading and freely accessible on the HTAi website. Looking back at this output since 2007 gives an indication that “technology management” has been, in some shape or form, an area of interest for most meetings. Policy Forum discussions about coverage with evidence development, managed entry arrangements, optimal use of technologies and interaction between HTA bodies and regulators are, of course, interrelated to each other and closely linked to the current topic. Whilst this might suggest a rather narrow scope of interests for Policy Forum members, it is quite the opposite. We cannot overestimate the importance of constructing an interdependent, mutually beneficial ecosystem between life science R+D and healthcare systems, to deliver on behalf of the public at large. This, coupled with the complexity involved in contemplating how current systems need to develop, means that it is necessary to spend time exploring the issues from many angles and with a variety of viewpoints.
You might view the latest Policy Forum topic – “Adaptive Approaches to Licensing, HTA and the Use of Technology” – as the culmination, pinnacle or perhaps even the finale to the discussions on technology management. But I don't think it is. We have not identified the optimum solution to the question of how to achieve efficient and sustainable introduction of innovative technologies into healthcare systems. So we certainly will need the work of the Policy Forum to continue. It is a delight to affirm that HTAi will continue to excel at delivering this exceptional and irreplaceable initiative.
