Your feedback needed: the future of the Health Technology Assessment Network
The European Commission and Member States of the European Union have launched the preparatory work of EUnetHTA Joint Action 3, which is planned to start in 2016.
Discussions around the HTA Network structure
In this framework the European Commission has launched an informal investigation to gather feedback from stakeholder groups and possibly amend the structure of the Health Technology Assessment Network (HTAN), the political body and strategic driving force of EUnetHTA, gathering high-level Member States’ representatives.
From one to several representatives?
Currently, one entity per stakeholder group- including healthcare providers, industry, patients, payers- is allowed to sit as observer (which means they do not have voting powers) in the HTAN meetings.
The European Commission has envisaged the possibility to allocate more than one seat per stakeholder group.
Let us know what you think!
We herewith wish to consult you about the role of observer that EPF plays on behalf of the patient stakeholder group, and whether you, as our members patient organisation would welcome the possibility to have your own observer seat, or feel comfortable to channel your views through EPF.
As the European Commission wants to guarantee the balance among represented stakeholder groups, it is not disclosed at this stage how many seats would be available. Meanwhile it would be helpful to have your view on this topic.
As EPF, we would certainly support the possibility to have a larger representation of patients in such an important arena as the HTA Network.
Please let us know what you think! Drop us a line or give us a call before September 2nd (valentina.strammiello@eu-patient.eu; +32 (0)2 274 08 62).
Further updates on the EUnetHTA Joint Action 3
We take this opportunity to inform you about the EUnetHTA JA3 preparatory work. We are currently in the phase of negotiating with the European Commission and Member States, together with BEUC and our member organisations EURORDIS (Rare Disease Europe) and the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP), given their direct and extensive experience on HTA.
The overall aim is to strengthen the role of the patient community in HTA consultation and assessment processes and ensure a mechanism to involve patient organisations in HTA processes relevant to their disease areas. We will come back to you shortly on progress in this area.
More information
For further information about Health Technology Assessment Network and EUnetHTA Joint Action 2:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/technology_assessment/policy/network/index_en.htm
http://www.eunethta.eu/about-us
For more information and submit your feedback contact Valentina Strammiello, Programme Officer, valentina.strammiello@eu-patient.eu