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Opportunities to improve reporting of rapid response in health technology assessment

Part of: Special Collection - Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2021

Matheus O. de Almeida Open the ORCID record for Matheus O. de Almeida [Opens in a new window] ,
Thais Montezuma ,
Haliton A. de Oliveira Júnior  and
Cleusa Pinheiro Ferri
Matheus O. de Almeida*
Affiliation:
Health Technology Assessment Unit, Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil
Thais Montezuma
Affiliation:
Health Technology Assessment Unit, Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil
Haliton A. de Oliveira Júnior
Affiliation:
Health Technology Assessment Unit, Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil
Cleusa Pinheiro Ferri
Affiliation:
Health Technology Assessment Unit, Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Matheus O. de Almeida, E-mail: mathewsalmeida@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Introduction

Mini health technology assessment (HTA) reports have been used to support policy makers and health systems by providing a timely summary of scientific evidence. The objective of this meta-epidemiologic study was to evaluate the quality of reporting of mini-HTA reports published in Brazil.

Methods

An electronic search for all mini-HTA reports published between 2014 and March 2019 was conducted in the SISREBRATS and CONITEC databases. The study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent assessors. The following data were extracted: bibliographic data; research question; characteristics of the population, health technologies and outcomes assessed; eligibility criteria; information about searches and study selection; risk of bias assessment; quality of evidence assessment; synthesis of results; and recommendation about the technology evaluated. A descriptive analysis was used to summarize the information retrieved from all the included mini-HTA reports.

Results

We included 103 mini-HTA reports, the great majority of which (92.3 percent) focused on the coverage of the technologies in the healthcare system, with more than 60 percent being about drugs. Only five mini-HTA reports (4.8 percent) gave reasons for the choice of outcomes, and fifteen (14.5 percent) discriminated between primary and secondary outcomes. All mini-HTAs reported the databases searched and 99 percent of them reported using Medline. Sixty percent of the mini-HTA reported assessing the risk of bias, and 52 percent reported assessing the quality of evidence.

Conclusion

The quality of reporting of the mini-HTA reports performed in Brazil is insufficient and needs to be improved to guarantee transparency and replicability.

Keywords

Health technology assessmentRapid responseMethodological quality
Type
Method
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , 2022 , e4
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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