More than 200 researchers investigating colon cancer tumors have found genetic vulnerabilities that could lead to powerful new treatments. The hope is that drugs designed to strike these weak spots will eventually stop a cancer that is now almost inevitably fatal once it has spread.Scientists increa

Patients with Down’s syndrome have developmental delay and abnormalities in their biological system. Most of the patients cannot take care of themselves. They must have long term treatment which is quite expensive. Currently there is no curative therapy for Down’s syndrome. Screening and prenatal diagnosis to detect abnormalities of Down’s sy

The debate over the price of the vaccine against HPV has become intenseWhen it comes to making the shot against cervical cancer the national vaccine programme, which means girls between the ages of 12-18 will receive it free, price is the matter.The debate over the price of the vaccine against Human

At the 67th World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 2014, a resolution was adopted on Health intervention and technology assessment in support of universal health coverage. Prof David Haslam, Chair of NICE, representing the UK Mission Geneva, addressed the Assembly during a panel session on the role

This is a guest post by Moriah Pollock-Hawthorne, Haverford University.I was an intern at NICE International and an American university student with aspirations to become a doctor. In an effort to learn about universal health coverage and experience a single-payer healthcare system in action, I came

With the introduction of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Asian countries, priority-setting and HTA has become increasingly important.  However, only in the past decade has HTA been used to inform countries’ health programs and policies. As such, HTA agencies are relatively new in Asia.  In 20

In 2007, there were an estimated 58 million deaths worldwide and, according to the WHO, more than half of these deaths (35 million) were caused by chronic diseases.  Another study estimates that the number of deaths caused by chronic diseases will rise to 50 million in 2020.  The economic burden of

On April 7-10, 2015, a HITAP team visited Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a country scoping visit to explore the potential areas for introducing health technology assessment (HTA) to support health resource allocation, focusing on the investment or disinvestment of health technologies. This visit was c

With HTA gaining ground as a tool for priority-setting globally, it comes as no surprise that, alongside many other questions on the development of the mechanism, countries are trying to find ways to adapt HTA to their particular healthcare system and context. Such was the case the HITAP team found

Quality and Outcomes Framework Steering Meeting 15 March 2016 Thailand adopted in 2013 the Quality and Outcomes Framework, also known as the QOF. This program was initiated by the National Health Security Office (NHSO) in Thailand that is responsi