Eurasian HTA Initiative
Evidence into
policy.
Connecting countries from the Balkans to Central Asia through evidence-informed health decisions.
Explore the initiativeEstablished in 2015
About the initiative
Regional collaboration.
Better health decisions.
Founded in 2015 under the leadership of the Turkish Evidence Based Medicine Society, with support from TİKA — the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.
The initiative brings together countries from the Balkans to Central Asia to strengthen health technology assessment and inform policy.
Multidisciplinary
Medical, economic, social, ethical, legal and organizational perspectives.
Systematic
Transparent evaluation of technologies and their intended and unintended effects.
Policy-facing
Scientific evidence to support health policy and informed decisions.
Regional
Shared learning across countries connected by cultural and geographical proximity.
Understanding HTA
The essentials, explained simply.
What is health technology?
Health technology includes medicines, medical devices, medical and surgical procedures, and the systems used to deliver health services.
These technologies help prevent illness, make diagnoses, provide treatment, support rehabilitation and deliver long-term care.
What is health technology assessment?
Health technology assessment is the systematic evaluation of the properties and effects of a health technology.
It considers both intended benefits and unintended consequences, including medical, economic, social, ethical, legal and organizational issues, to inform decision-making.
An integrated approach
Explore the links between evidence, assessment, policy and patient safety.
These themes bring together the components of the integrated model presented by Rabia Kahveci at the Eurasian HTA meeting.
Evidence-based medicine & practice
Connecting research evidence with clinical expertise and patient needs to support informed clinical decisions and everyday practice.
Evidence-based policy-making
Bringing research findings and contextual knowledge into the development of health policies and decisions about health services.
HTA: full, national & hospital-based
Full HTA: A broad assessment of a technology across relevant clinical and non-clinical dimensions.
National HTA: Assessment that informs decisions at health-system or national level.
Hospital-based HTA: Assessment tailored to a hospital’s clinical needs, resources and organizational context.
Knowledge translation & the HTA team
Knowledge translation helps make evidence understandable and useful for decision-makers.
Multidisciplinary HTA teams bring together the expertise needed to assess technologies and communicate their findings.
Patient safety
Considering potential harms and unintended effects is an essential part of assessing technologies and supporting safer care.
Meetings of the Initiative
Milestones in regional collaboration.
MARCH 2015 Kick-off meeting · Ankara The founding meeting of the Eurasian HTA Initiative. Details
The 1st Eurasian Health Technology Assessment Forum took place on 12–13 March 2015 at The Green Park Hotel in Ankara.
It was held with the 2nd Evidence-Based Medicine Symposium and the 4th National HTA Forum, organized by the Turkish Evidence Based Medicine Society with TİKA support.
Participating country teams came from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.
NOVEMBER 2015 Second meeting · Istanbul Country teams shared national experience in HTA. Details
The participating countries returned for the second meeting, with the exception of Azerbaijan. Albania joined as a new member, while Tunisia participated as an observer.
Country teams presented their national work on evidence-informed decision-making and health technology assessment.
17–21 JUNE 2017 4th Eurasian HTA Forum · Rome Continuing the regional exchange of knowledge. Details
A later forum of the Eurasian Health Technology Assessment network was held in Rome on 17–21 June 2017.
The forum was organized with support from TİKA and the Turkish Evidence Based Medicine Association.
Country HTA profiles
Countries represented at the 2015 meetings. Select a country to see its participation summary.
Albania
Albania joined as a new member at the second meeting in Istanbul in November 2015.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan participated in the founding meeting in Ankara in March 2015, but did not attend the second meeting in Istanbul that November.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the founding meeting in Ankara and the second meeting in Istanbul in 2015.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan participated in the founding meeting in Ankara and the second meeting in Istanbul in 2015.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan participated in the founding meeting in Ankara and the second meeting in Istanbul in 2015.
Montenegro
Montenegro participated in the founding meeting in Ankara and the second meeting in Istanbul in 2015.
North Macedonia
Listed as Macedonia in the 2015 meeting records, the country participated in the Ankara and Istanbul meetings.
Tunisia (observer)
Tunisia participated as an observer country at the second meeting in Istanbul in November 2015.
Türkiye
Türkiye participated in both 2015 meetings. The initiative was established under the leadership of the Turkish Evidence Based Medicine Society, with TİKA support.
Participation information refers to the 2015 meetings.