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Health technology assessment: a sociological commentary on reflexive innovation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2004

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Affiliation:
SATSU, University of York
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Abstract

This study provides a sociological commentary on the current debates within health technology assessment (HTA), specifically in response to the approaches taken in France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It argues that HTA is part of a wider reflexive innovation system that seeks to order current and prospective technologies. The study discusses the socio-political process of HTA priority setting, the rhetorical role of HTA, the localised and contingent use of HTA, and the policy gap between guidelines and practice. It argues for the development of new types of methodologies for assessment and for a stronger social embedding of HTA practice.

Keywords

Health technology assessmentSociology
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , January 2004 , pp. 61 - 66
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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