Capacity Building for Health Technology Assessment in Jordan: Institutionalization and Its Use in Pricing and Reimbursement Decisions

This study aimed to describe the process of the institutionalization of health technology assessment (HTA) in Jordan. In particular, this study presents local policy perspectives on capacity building for HTA and the progress made toward its use in pricing and reimbursement decisions. University-based education and professional development training in pharmacoeconomics and pharmaceutical policy have been the starting points to create a receptive environment, necessary expertise, and local tools across many settings in Jordan. International collaboration with HTA supporting bodies helped to build connections and informed policy development on local levels through projects, meetings, and discussions. Institutionalizing HTA in the King Hussein Cancer Center and the Royal Medical Services was the driving factor for HTA implementation and practice advancement; nevertheless, process transparency and experience sharing through reports and publications are still limited. The Jordan Food and Drug Administration’s pricing and formulary decisions require pharmacoeconomic consultation in selected cases according to the Jordanian Drug Law. Nevertheless, there is a lack of local methodological guidelines for conducting HTA. In addition, HTA practitioners and the regulatory scope of future HTA activities in Jordan cannot be determined yet. Over the past 2 decades, Jordan has crossed a number of milestones and advanced further to implement HTA as a tool for evaluating health interventions. As a next step, legislation is needed to mandate the use of HTA and to enhance transparency in decision-making processes. •University-based education and professional training in health economics and pharmaceutical policy are helping to create a receptive environment, expertise, and local tools across many settings in Jordan.•Two distinct national health institutions embedded health technology assessment (HTA) into their reimbursement decisions: King Hussein Cancer Center and the Jordanian Royal Medical Services. Nevertheless, reimbursement decision-making processes vary across public health institutions, influencing the way in which HTA is implemented and used.•The existence of the National HTA Committee is a focal factor to accelerate the institutionalization of HTA at the national level in Jordan. Nevertheless, there is considerable resistance from various public health institutions to collaborate on data collection or sharing due to a lack of experts and time resources. Building capa