Key challenges and opportunities shaping health technology assessment
Next Tuesday’s ISPOR workshop brings together Australia’s leading HTA stakeholders: PBAC members, HTA Review Implementation Advisory Committee representatives, academics, and industry experts to tackle some of the most pressing questions facing health technology assessment today.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. Australia’s HTA system is under pressure and the people with the power to reshape it will be in the room.
With PBAC members and the HTA Review Implementation Advisory Committee in the room, these aren’t theoretical discussions, they’re conversations that will directly influence policy decisions affecting patient access nationwide.
The quality assurance timing dilemma
Different stakeholders view assessment timeframes very differently. Some see comprehensive QA as essential for rigorous decisions, others as process-heavy delays. The hands-on Quality Assurance Workshop brings these perspectives together, where Pulse Economics’ Oona Reardon joins experts to identify which practices deliver genuine value within realistic timeframes.
This isn’t about lowering standards. It’s about getting better results from the time we have.
Patient evidence: balancing depth and efficiency
How do we meaningfully incorporate patient perspectives into HTA? The debate extends far beyond timing to fundamental questions about what constitutes valid evidence, how patient experiences should be weighted against clinical data, and whether current collection methods actually capture what matters most to patients.
Some argue for more structured, quantifiable patient-reported outcome measures. Others advocate for narrative evidence that captures lived experiences traditional metrics miss. The question is, how does the PBAC value these insights differently during evaluation?
Oona Reardon will facilitate the “Patient Evidence vs Experience” session, bringing together consumer advocates to explore these methodological challenges and examine how different forms of patient input can enhance evaluation quality.
The emerging technology challenge
Current HTA frameworks were designed for traditional medicines with established clinical pathways. But AI diagnostic tools, digital health platforms, and genomic technologies present entirely different challenges.
Beyond reimbursement policy, fundamental questions remain about Australia’s readiness for clinical AI integration. Do we have the workforce trained to implement and oversee AI tools? Is our healthcare infrastructure capable of supporting digital health platforms at scale? How do we assess technologies that continuously learn and evolve post-market?
The “AI in HTA” and “Genomics & Digital Health” sessions will explore whether our evaluation toolkit can evolve to meet these challenges.
The room where it happens
With PBAC members and HTA Review Implementation Committee representatives participating, this workshop offers direct access to the people shaping Australia’s HTA future. The “Blue Sky Thinking” session provides a unique platform to contribute ideas that could influence policy development at the highest levels.
This is where theory meets implementation, where stakeholder perspectives converge, and where real change in Australian HTA begins.
Tuesday, 12 August at the Aerial Function Centre, Sydney. Join the conversation that’s shaping the future of health technology assessment in Australia. Register for the event here: https://events.humanitix.com/future-proofing-hta
