EUnetHTA relative effectiveness assessments: efforts to increase usability, transparency and inclusiveness

The objective of the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) Joint Action 3 (JA3) was to develop a sustainable European model for future collaboration on HTA, by reducing duplication in HTA production and increasing patient access to health technologies. Compared to the previous JA2, several procedural changes were made aiming to increase usability, transparency, and inclusiveness of relative effectiveness assessments (REAs). This article presents and highlights these changes, explains their rationale as well as their influence on HTA production. Feedback from REA teams and project managers was collected. At the end of JA3, all lessons learned were mapped, resulting in a set of recommendations for a future REA production process. In JA3, forty-three EUnetHTA REAs have been produced. Efforts to increase the usability of the REAs were made by focussing on the needs of REA producers and users (HTA agencies) and by increasing stakeholder involvement. Huge steps were taken with regard to transparency, which was achieved through publication of guidances, templates, and up-to-date information on the EUnetHTA website. In an attempt to improve inclusiveness, (stakeholder) interaction and involvement as well as feedback procedures were enhanced and streamlined. The fine-tuned project management brought all aspects together and facilitated a consistent and reliable workflow. Despite that HTA agencies have different national requirements, the procedural changes made in JA3 proved to counteract some of these challenges. Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that further perceived methodological differences are being resolved to ensure a strong base for future European collaboration on REA production.