Report on Handling Ethical Issues in HTA

The report was produced by the INAHTA Working Group on Ethical Issues. The results of a 2003 survey among INAHTA organizations on ethical issues revealed some differences with respect to how the ethical issues are dealt with as part of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) process. These differences have to be taken into account. The most important part of ethics in HTA has to do with the consequences of applying the technology to be assessed. However, there are also ethical questions related to the HTA analysis itself, including the starting point of choice of an area to be looked at.

Different approaches are used in handling ethical issues in HTA in INAHTA. An INAHTA working group was therefore established in 2004 on Ethical Issues in HTA. A report was presented the Annual Meeting 2005. The group has developed an "Ethics Manual".

 "Handling Ethical Issues in HTA" – final report
Final report Ethics in HTA Nov 07

HTAi 2006 in Adelaide, South-Australia, Pre-Conference Workshop on Ethical Issues
Download the presentations from the workshop:

  • INAHTA Working Group Ethical Issues in HTA by Christa Harstall, IHE, Canada
    Ethics_HTAiethics2006_Harstall
  • Addressing Ethical Issues in the Context of an HTA by Prof dr G. J. van der Wilt, University Medical Centre St Radboud, Nijmegen Athena Instituut Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, NL
    Ethics_HTAiethics2006_vanderwilt
  • Bringing Evidence to the World of Policy Making: Bioethics as Midwifery by Ghislaine Cleret de Langavant, AETMIS, Canada
    Ethics_HTAiethics2006_GdeL
  • Ethical Perspectives on Engaging Communities in Debates about New Technologies by Annette Braunack-Mayer, University of Adelaide, AHTA, Australia
    Ethics_HTAiethics2006_abm

For further information about Ethics in HTA, visit the INAHTA-HTAi Ethics Interest Group