spain_flag  Madrid, Spain

 

History and Structure

Health Technology Assessment Agency (AETS) is a National Agency founded in 1994 as a Centre within the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). ISCIII is the main Public Research Entity funding, managing and carrying out biomedical research in Spain reporting to Ministry of Science & Innovation and providing scientific and technical support to the Ministry of Health and to the National Health System (NHS).

AETS is working in coordination with the Spanish Regional HTA Agencies and Units in the Spanish HTA Network. (http://www.redets.msssi.gob.es). Health technologies are prioritized for assessment in the Inter-territorial Health Council in the MOH. The Spanish HTA network is dealing with the assessment and is composed of 8 agencies.

Mission

The main goal of the AETS is to promote the appropriate use of health technologies, providing decision-makers with critically review information about their efficacy, safety, effectiveness and efficiency.

Our objectives include the following:

  1. Establish – on scientific grounds – the medical, social, ethical and economic impact of the use of health technologies
  2. To promote the appropriate use of existing technologies.
  3. To contribute to the appropriate training of health professionals in health technology assessment.

How AETS Works

AETS plays a relevant role in supporting systematic reviews on health technologies at the national level. All of our HTA reports include internal and external reviews and are always based on the best available scientific evidence.  Systematic reviews are our main product.

The activities of AETS embrace the next areas:

  1. Health technology assessment reports (elaborating reports assessing the impact of health technologies).
  2. Research projects (in research areas as health services research and HTA).
  3. Coordination of evaluation services (participating in activities related with HTA advising NHS authorities).
  4. Postgraduate medical education programs through residential activities.

Dissemination Activities

Our assessment reports are mainly in Spanish, including always an abstract in English. Some of our reports are published in scientific journals or institutional publications.
Active participation in meetings of scientific and professional societies, short-term training courses for healthcare managers and clinicians with managerial responsibilities are means of disseminating AETS results.
Our HTA reports can be downloaded from our webpage or from the Spanish HTA Network webpage:
http://www.redets.msssi.gob.es
http://publicaciones.isciii.es/unit.jsp?unitId=aets

Current Projects (a selection):

  • Determination of fusion-agnostic biomarkers in oncology.
  • Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Implementation of Systematic Neonatal Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Disease in Spain Occluder device of left atrial appendage.
  • Safety, efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency of several rotavirus vaccination strategies in infants in the Spanish contex.
  • Systematic review on the effectiveness of Digital Pathology as a routine diagnostic tool in pathological anatomy and cytology.
  • Efficacy and safety of transanal irrigation in adults with bowel dysfunction.
  • Study of the efficacy and safety of steam thermal therapy and the urethral delivery system for the treatment of symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
  • Efficacy and safety of dermal fillers with hyaluronic acid for the treatment of periocular pathology in patients with facial paralysis.
  • Use of indocyanine green in colorectal and hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery.

Also, we are involved in:

  • European project “PERMIT. Personalized Medicine Trials”. Project funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program.
  • European project “Beyond One Million Genomes”. Project funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.
  • European project “PIONEER. The European Network of Excellence for Big Data in Prostate Cancer”. Project funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 IMI2 program.
  • Spanish project “Impact of the format on the understanding of economic data in health technology assessment. Randomized Controlled Trial”. Project funded by the Spanish Strategic Action in Health (AES).
  • Research Network on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS).

Future Plans

  • To improve dissemination of HTA findings.
  • To increase participation of care professionals and patients inside the HTA projects.
  • To contribute to national and international collaboration on HTA.

 

Agency Information:

Country: Spain
Description of population served: National
Population served (mil): 47
Current HTA budget (mil USD): AETS has no specific budget.  The budget for HTA activities is allocated in global ISCIII budget. The ISCIII’s budget is not divided among their centres.
Permanent staff: 14. No permanent staff for research projects.
Consultants: Variable
Ongoing TA projects:

Contact Information:

Director: Luis M. Sánchez Gómez
Contact person: Luis M. Sánchez Gómez

Health Technology Assessment Agency (AETS)

Sub-Directorate General for Research on Cellular Therapy and Regenerative Medicine
Institute for Health “Carlos III” (ISCIII)
Avda Monforte de Lemos 5. Pabellón 4
Madrid 28029

Tel: +34 91 8222005
Fax: +34 91 8222922
Internet: http://www.isciii.es/ISCIII/es/contenidos/fd-el-instituto/fd-organizacion/fd-estructura-directiva/fd-subdireccion-general-programas-internacionales-investigacion-relaciones-institucionales/fd-centros-unidades/agencia-evaluacion-tecnologias-sanitarias.shtml
Email: luism.sanchez@isciii.es
aets-info@isciii.es