Design and development of system and tools for prioritizing local health innovations in the early stages to increase the chances of local health innovation being included in the benefit package in the public health insurance schemes in Thailand
End : 19 November 2024
Design and development of system and tools for prioritizing local health innovations in the early stages to increase the chances of local health innovation being included in the benefit package in the public health insurance schemes in Thailand
About Project
The development of medical innovation is one of Thailand’s key strategic priorities, as outlined in the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2023–2027), with Milestone 4 positioning Thailand as a hub for high-value medical and healthcare services. However, Thailand’s research and development in medical technologies and health innovations has not yet achieved the desired level of success. Many innovations developed domestically have not progressed into registered products available on the commercial market.
In response to this challenge, the project “Design and development of system and tools for prioritizing local health innovations in the early stages to increase the chances of local health innovation being included in the benefit package in the public health insurance schemes in Thailand” was initiated to develop processes for the assessment of medical and health technologies during the research and development phase, known as Early Health Technology Assessment (early HTA). Early HTA serves as a proactive assessment process to evaluate the potential impacts of implementing technologies in clinical practice or in the daily lives of the population. This assessment enables investors and innovation developers to identify the desired characteristics of a technology, referred to as the Target Product Profile (TPP), which defines the specifications that technologies should achieve in order to maximize market demand. The TPP has become a key mechanism currently promoted by the World Health Organization to drive health innovation that responds effectively to global health system needs.
To develop tools for the assessment of medical and health innovations during the development phase, this project established an evaluation process for demand-side prioritization of research and development in both system-level innovations and health technologies. This approach was subsequently applied in the assessment of selected health innovations in development as illustrative case studies. In addition, the research team expanded the impact of the project through the dissemination of knowledge on early-stage cost-effectiveness assessment prior to R&D investment, based on lessons learned from the project implementation. The initiative aimed to raise awareness regarding the importance of evaluating innovation value during the research and development stage, while also strengthening the capacity of innovation developers, academics, organizational leaders, research and innovation support agencies, and innovation funding bodies both domestically and internationally.
