Written by Hannah Shapiro   Quality assessment in single-arm trials Quality assessment is a vital aspect of conducting a thorough systematic literature review (SLR), as the validity of the conclusions of the review depends on the reliability of the included literature. A poorly conducted study with bias in the methodology may introduce errors or skewed results. Therefore, quality assessment is important in minimising the risk of bias from included studies and to have confidence in the conclusions of the review. There are several quality assessment tools that are industry-standard for the ..read more

Written by Kiera Lander, Assistant Project Manager   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has long been at the forefront of health technology assessment (HTA), ensuring that patients have access to innovative, efficacious medicines. Recently, NICE has piloted and implemented a more flexible approach to HTA known as the proportionate approach to technology appraisals (PATT), which aims to streamline the assessment process for simpler, low-risk treatments. In this blog, we will discuss key features of PATT and briefly summarise the pilot studies conducted to date. &n ..read more

Written by Brian O’Toole, HTA Writing Lead   Last year I changed jobs. It was a major life decision that took time to make as it meant leaving the comfort and familiarity of academia for the hustle and bustle of a market access consultancy. For the past decade I’ve worked as a health economist for both the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), and more recently the University of Exeter as a member of an evidence assessment group (EAG). To date I’ve mostly been involved in critiquing manufacturer cost-effectiveness evidence, economic models, and value propositions for medicines seeking reim ..read more

Written by Mark Pennington, Consultant Health Economist   With the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) facing an unprecedented patient demand for healthcare, there is increasing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can support healthcare diagnoses. It is hoped that the integration of AI into triaging processes will alleviate diagnostic pressure by directing patients at the first point of contact, and thereby release healthcare professional (HCP) time.  Like many others, Source Health Economics (Source) is eager to understand the cost-saving potential of AI in the health ..read more

Written by Oliver Burn, Consultant Health Economist, and Margaret Petrou, Consultant Health Economist Adapting a global economic model for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) submissions in several countries can be challenging, as requirements can vary considerably between countries. It is important to keep differing country requirements in mind when designing a global model, to ensure it is both easily adaptable to different countries, and to avoid pitfalls, such as missing a key component required for a successful HTA submission. We have compared the HTA requirements and methodologies acros ..read more

Written by Dom Partridge, Medical Writer As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance, natural language processing (NLP) models like ChatGPT have gained a lot of attention for their ability to generate human-like text. However, while ChatGPT and other NLP models may be impressive, they are not yet capable of truly replicating human intelligence and should not be mistaken for such. NLP is the ability of a computer programme to understand, interpret, and generate human language. It involves using algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyse and process natural langu ..read more

Written by Mark Pennington, Consultant Health Economist A National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendation can open the door to widespread adoption for a new medical device. But does getting a NICE recommendation require extensive evidence on clinical and cost-effectiveness? Not necessarily. In this post I look at the requirements for the NICE Medical Technology Evaluation Programme (MTEP), and share some observations from experience assessing company economic submissions to MTEP as the economic lead for King’s Technology Evaluation Centre (KiTEC), an external assessme ..read more

Written by Beth Hancock, Senior Consultant Health Economist Pharmaceutical companies often develop global cost-effectiveness and budget impact models, with the aim of adapting them for specific countries. In principle, this is an efficient and streamlined process, but the challenge of developing a single model for diverse healthcare systems and health technology assessment (HTA) processes means that it’s rarely straightforward. Those familiar with the development of global models might recognise the following pitfalls: Sharing a finalised global model with participating countries, only to f ..read more

Written by Alec Miners, Head of Health Economics The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE’s) new processes and methods guide includes several important changes to the way submitted economic evaluations should be conducted (1). While the headline change is arguably the removal of the end-of-life criteria and the introduction of a new severity modifier, the document contains other interesting changes. One of these is the requirement (request?) to include a description of the conceptual modelling process. Section 4.6.3 states: ‘The conceptual model development process used to ..read more

As we approach the end of British Heart Week, we reflect on some of the key stats around heart conditions in the UK and our contribution as a company to help bring cutting-edge treatments to patients with cardiovascular diseases The post British Heart Week 2022 appeared first on Source Health Economics ..read more