Malaysia_flag  Putrajaya, Malaysia

– Dr. Izzuna Mudla Mohamed Ghazali, Head, MaHTAS

 

History and Structure

The Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section or known as MaHTAS was established in August 1995 under the Medical Programme, Ministry of Health (MOH) in keeping with the Ministry’s policy of ensuring that safe, effective and cost-effective technology is being used in the MOH facilities. This is done through the conduct of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Mini-HTA (Technology Review), Information Brief (rapid assessment) and horizon scanning of emerging health technologies. The scope of activities of this section has also been expanded to develop and implement national Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) in 2001.

Vision

Being the centre of excellence for informed decision making for better healthcare.

Mission

Advocating evidence-informed health decision making by:

  • Producing transparent, relevant, accessible health technology assessment, clinical practice guidelines and other synthesized research evidence
  • Fostering collaboration with local and international stakeholders
  • Strengthening health technology assessment capacity in Malaysia
  • Empowering consumer

How MaHTAS Works

MaHTAS receives HTA issues from various organizations within Ministry of Health every two years which are then prioritised for the conduct of HTA. The HTA Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) prioritises the technologies to be assessed and presented to the Health Technology Assessment and Clinical Practice Guidelines (HTA-CPG) Council for approval. MaHTAS establishes relevant working teams within the section which comprise of doctors, epidemiologists, pharmacists and/or scientific officers. Each working team will systematically retrieve, critically appraise, synthesis and summarise the evidence. The evidence will be presented to an expert committee which is multidisciplinary depending on the issues before drafting the HTA report. The final HTA draft report will be sent to external reviewer(s) and then presented to the HTA TAC followed by HTA-CPG Council for approval. MaHTAS is the Secretariat for the HTA-CPG Council.

As for Mini-HTA, requests are received throughout the year. MaHTAS reviewers will conduct the assessment and send the Mini-HTA report to the requestor and relevant units/programmes. These reports are also presented to the HTA TAC for approval and to the HTA-CPG Council for endorsement.

MaHTAS develops and implements Evidence-based CPGs and conducts training on HTA, systematic review and development of Evidence-based CPG. The CPGs are developed by multidisciplinary groups which comprise of relevant clinical specialists, pharmacists, allied health personnel and academicians. The completed guidelines will be externally reviewed by various stakeholders before they are finally approved by the HTA-CPG Council and disseminated. Implementation tools such as Quick Reference, Training Modules and Patient Information Leaflet are also developed where possible.

Emerging technologies were identified either through proactive or reactive process. The identified technologies will be filtered using pre-defined criteria. The filtered technologies will be prioritised by the Horizon Scanning Technical Advisory Committee (HS TAC) members. MaHTAS horizon analyst will conduct assessment ensuing a draft report. The report will be presented to HS TAC and followed by HTA-CPG Council for endorsement.

Dissemination Activities

Once the HTA, Mini-HTA reports, Horizon Scanning reports and CPGs have been approved or endorsed by the HTA & CPG Council, it would be printed and disseminated to the relevant target groups. The findings of the HTA, Mini-HTA and CPGs will also be posted in MaHTAS newsletter and Facebook. The HTA, Mini-HTA and Horizon Scanning reports will also be uploaded in MOH website (full report and executive summary). The reports are also made available via mobile application (myMaHTAS-Android and iOS application). The reports are linked to the INAHTA database. The findings of the reports will also be published in peer review journals and will also be presented at seminars or conferences.

Current projects

1)    Health Technology Assessment:

  • Early Cancer Detection Test for Lung
  • Molecular Profiling in Breast Cancer Management
  • Immunotherapy for PDL-1 positive non-small cell lung cancer
  • Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
  • Real-time glucose monitoring system (RT-CGMS)

2)    Technology review (Mini-HTA):

  • Robot assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty system
  • Sublingual immunotherapy for atopy
  • Incisional negative pressure wound therapy for surgical sites infection prevention
  • Folic Acid supplementation in pregnancy
  • Cultivated autologous limbal epithelial transplant (CLET) for ocular surface disease with limbal stem deficiency
  • Mesenchymal stem cell for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative disease

3)    Clinical Practice Guidelines:

  • Management of Acne Vulgaris (Second Edition)
  • Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
  • Management of Hepatitis B in Adults
  • Management of Thalassemia (Second Edition)
  • Management of Cancer Pain (Second Edition)
  • Management of Geriatric Hip Fracture
  • Management of Retinopathy of Prematurity (Second Edition)
  • Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Future Plans

  • Strengthen collaboration in accelerating and improving access of health technologies
  • Strengthen HTA role in informed decision making.
  • Intensify activities in Horizon Scanning including early dialogue and identification of obsolete technologies

Agency Information

MaHTAs_logo

Country: Malaysia
Description of population served: National
Population served (mil): 32.7
Current HTA budget (mil USD): MOH operating budget
Permanent staff: 43
Consultants: Variable
Ongoing TA projects: 19


Contact Information

Director: Dr. Izzuna Mudla Mohamed Ghazali
Contact person: Dr. Roza Sarimin

Health Technology Assessment Section, Ministry of Health Malaysia
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Federal Government Administrative Centre
Level 4, Block E1, Parcel E
62590 Putrajaya Malaysia

Tel: +603 888 312 29
Fax: +603 888 312 30
Internet: http://www.moh.gov.my
Email: htamalaysia@moh.gov.my