Bologna, Italy
History and Structure
The Emilia-Romagna Regional Health Authority has been one of the first Italian governmental institutions to believe and invest in Health Technology Assessment. Its scientific capacity in this field was developed and strengthened through the participation to several networks, in primis INAHTA, HTAi and the Cochrane Collaboration, and by contributing to the development of the European Network of HTA as a founding partner of EUnetHTA. Since 2006 the Emilia-Romagna Region has been a partner of the EUnetHTA Project and of the three Joint Actions, actively collaborating to its scientific activities, through the production of joint collaborative assessments and joint early dialogues/scientific advice as well as methodological guidance.
When the Italian Ministry of Health launched the National Program of HTA for Medical Devices (https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/temi/p2_5.jsp?lingua=italiano&area=dispositivi-medici&menu=tecnologie) , RER was part of the Steering Committee that developed the Strategic Plan and contributed to the production of the methodological tools for the implementation of the Program. RER set up its own Regional HTA Centre which in 2019 became a Regional Collaborative Centre for the National Program of HTA.
Mission
The main goal of the RER’s Regional Collaborative Centre for HTA is to promote and support the adoption and appropriate use of safe, effective, sustainable health interventions, by providing the best available evidence on their clinical and economic impact as well as their effect on citizens’ and patients’ equity of access to all health services.
How we work
The role of the RER’s Regional Collaborative Centre for HTA has both a regional and a national perspective. At the regional level it collects the inputs from professionals and local health authorities related to the adoption of innovative health interventions, carries out the scientific assessments and supports the regional health authority’s decision-making process. It also supports the supervision of the successful implementation of health interventions, monitoring their safety and effectiveness, as well the realization of prospective clinical studies aimed at completing the evidence profile of new health technologies. More recently it has also been engaged in the evaluation of health interventions and innovations in the fields of community practice/care.
At the national level the RER’s Centre takes part in the Steering Committee’s process of prioritization and selection of health technologies, contributes to the development of methodological tools, carries out the systematic reviews of the evidence in collaboration with other regional Centres and supports the final appraisal process.
Finally, at the international level RER has been actively involved in the development and collaborative production of the EUnetHTA’s outputs.
Dissemination
Our reports are published in English language and are freely available from governmental websites (https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/temi/p2_6.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5175&area=dispositivi-medici&menu=tecnologie ; https://assr.regione.emilia-romagna.it/pubblicazioni/rapporti-documenti ). Notification of publication is sent by email to professionals of the Regional Health Service. Selected reports are published in scientific journals.
Agency Information
Regione Emilia-Romagna
Country: Italy
Description of population served: Regional (Emilia-Romagna)
Population served (mil): 4.5
Current HTA budget (mil USD):
Permanent HTA staff: 12
Consultants:
Ongoing TA projects: 3
Contact Information
Director: Luca Baldino
Contact person: Luciana Ballini
Regione Emilia-Romagna – Direzione Generale Cura della Persona, Salute e Welfare
Viale Aldo Moro 21
40127 Bologna Italy
Tel: +(39) 051 527 7450 – 7451
Fax: +(39) 527 7053
Internet https://salute.regione.emilia-romagna.it/
Email: luciana.ballini@regione.emilia-romagna.it