Why health technology assessment is essential to improving care

We were established by the Welsh Government in November 2017 with a role to support a national approach to the identification, appraisal and adoption of non-medicine health technologies.

We do this by assessing non-medicine health and care technologies and issuing independent, authoritative guidance based on the best available evidence and expertise.

We appraise technologies throughout their whole lifecycle, from innovation to obsolescence. This enables key people, like care commissioners, to make evidence-informed decisions based on the clinical and cost effectiveness of a technology.

Why is this important?

All forms of care face challenges in the future as the demand for care often increases faster than the resources available to address needs. For that reason, it’s important to ensure available resources are put to their best possible use to deliver the most benefit for the people of Wales. Our  evidence appraisal process can assist this.

There will be technology solutions that can be used to improve the quality of care and life for service users and providers. There’s the bigger picture, too. The success of care technologies and interventions can have a big knock on effect on people, public services and society as a whole.

How to suggest a technology topic:

Whether a technology developer or care commissioner, anyone can suggest a topic to us through a simple online form hosted on the website: www.healthtechnology.wales

Finding quality evidence for assessment can be a challenge. If technology proposers are unsure about any aspect of a technology suggestion, our researchers are on hand to offer support throughout the process.