Background

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) serves as an important tool for policy decision makers in making rational health resource allocation decisions in accordance with the needs of society as a whole. During the past decade, Thailand’s HTA has lacked a standard procedure for task implementation. The numbers of HTA studies and researchers who are conducting HTA in Thailand are both very limited. There is no network linking HTA researchers together, resulting in a lack of collaboration and ability to solve important health problems at the macro (national) level. In addition, benefits of research sponsorships by industry and international agencies have played an important role in determining HTA topics in Thailand. Given resource constraints, it is, however, necessary to ensure that HTA studies focus on interventions that will assist decisions to target major health problems that could subsequently have a large impact on the population’s health.

The Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), was established in 2007 as a non-profit organization, in order to take responsibility for appraising a wide range of health technologies and programs, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, interventions, individual and community health promotion and disease prevention as well as social health policy. HITAP is an associate organization, coming under the auspices of the International Health Policy Program (IHPP), Thailand

HITAP receives its main funding support from 4 public institutions; namely the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, the Health Systems Research Institute, the Health Insurance System Research Office and the Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Public Health. HITAP also receives specific funding from other non-profit organizations to assess health intervention and technology in accordance with the main responsibilities of HITAP. These organizations include the World Health organization, the World Bank, the Center for Alcohol Studies, and the Global Development Network. However, in order to assure neutrality and to avoid the problem of conflict of interest, HITAP will not directly or indirectly receive any grant or support from a profit-making organization or an institute funded by a profit-making organization.