Assessment of the quality of mini-HTA.

OBJECTIVES: Mini-HTA (health technology assessment) is increasingly being applied in Denmark as an input for decisions on the use of health technologies. Mini-HTA is a form or check list with questions concerning the prerequisites for and consequences of health technologies. At the national level, the National Board of Health uses mini-HTA when hospitals apply for permission to introduce new treatments. Mini-HTA is also compulsory in Danish Regions' annual collection of early warnings. At the local level some hospitals have made mini-HTA compulsory when clinical departments apply for funding for new technologies. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of the information included in mini-HTA used at Danish hospitals and to discuss the consequences of this to decision making.

METHODS: The quality of mini-HTA is assessed by use of an INATHA checklist for HTA reports. Data consists of reviews of the quality in fifty-two mini-HTAs produced by Danish hospitals in 2008.

RESULTS: The mini-HTAs generally include descriptions of the assessed technology and the comparator, but information about the selection and interpretation of the clinical literature and other data is often missing. The level of evidence for the clinical effects and the main references are generally included. Only 25 percent of the mini-HTAs include a quantitative estimate of the size of the clinical effects. Organizational consequences inside the clinical department is described in 81percent of the cases and 92 percent includes a cost estimate.

CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the quality of the information in many cases is insufficient. There is a strong need for quality assurance of mini-HTAs to improve the accuracy of the information, however, without harming the timeliness and the limited use of resources in producing the reports.