Evaluating Opportunities to Implement Hospital-Based Health Technology Assessment (HB-HTA) in Selected Hospitals in the Kraków Municipality

• Published in: Journal of Public Governance 2021, Vol.55 (55), p.35-49
• Main Authors: Dusza, Dominika, Furman, Maciej, Gałązka, Małgorzata, Kowalska-Bobko, Iwona
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applicants; Consultants; Economy; Evaluation; God; Health; Health care; Health technology assessment; Hospitals; Implementation; Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence; Liability; Limited liability; Medical technology; Politics / Political Sciences; Research design; Social Sciences; Technological change; Technology; Technology assessment; Value added
• ISSN: 1898-3529; 2956-6061; 2658-1116; 2956-6398
• DOI: 10.15678/ZP.2021.55.1.04

technology assessment (HB-HTA) has been developed to facilitate the use of new health technologies in hospitals. Thepurpose of this study was to evaluate opportunities to implement HB-HTA in selected hospitals located in the Krakówmunicipality in Poland.Research Design Method: We used shortened version of a questionnaire from a project called “Implementationof the Hospital-Based HTA (HB-HTA) – Hospital Assessment of Innovative Medical Technologies”. The participantswere hospital managers working in three hospitals located in Kraków: the Ujastek Medical Centre Limited LiabilityCompany (LLC), the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God Hospital LLC, and the University Hospital in Kraków.The survey was conducted and made available online.Findings: Each of the participating hospitals had implemented new medical technologies. Applications for the implementationof innovative medical technology had been considered by the hospital directors; however, departmental heads wererequired to act as the lead applicants. Two out of these three hospitals had developed both an application templatefor the implementation of innovative technologies and a formalized path for their examination. The main sourceof financing new technologies is the hospitals’ funds. Before implementing the technology, hospitals had consultedthe following agencies: the National Health Fund, the Ministry of Health, medical technology manufacturers orproducer organisations, medical voivodeship consultants, and other hospitals. The financial consequences of the medicaltechnologies implementation were analyzed.Implications / Recommendations: The hospitals define innovative medical technologies in a correct way. There are noseparate HTA units in any of the hospitals. The surveyed hospitals have the capability to implement HB-HTA.Contribution / Value Added: The implementation of HB-HTA processes in the analysed hospitals may require the hospitalmanagers to broaden knowledge about this area. The implementation of HB-HTA procedures in hospitals may havepositive economic effects on the entire health care system.