The Development of Health Technology Assessment in Asia: Current Status and Future Trends
Value in Health Regional Issues, Volume 21, May 2020
The journal Value in Health Regional Issues published an examination of health technology assessment (HTA) in Asia by Analysis Group Managing Principals Eric Wu and Hongbo Yang, Analysis Group affiliate Professor Gordon Liu from Peking University, and coauthors from the University of Tokyo and Ewha Womans University in South Korea. HTA, which many countries have used for decades to inform policy and pricing decision making, has caught on more gradually in Asia. This study examines HTA programs in various stages in China, Japan, and South Korea.
Analysis Group is actively involved in HTA support in the Asia-Pacific region, including in the three countries discussed in the paper. Of these, South Korea has the longest-running HTA program, established in 2006. Japan recently completed a three-year pilot program that turned, in 2019, into institutionalized HTA. Finally, in China, HTA-related evidence has been increasingly considered in drug reimbursement decisions. The study gives insight into the commonalities and individual challenges Asian countries face in implementing HTA.