1
|
Krubiner CB, Tugendhaft A, DiStefano MJ, Barsdorf NW, Merritt MW, Goldstein SJ, Mosam A, Potgieter S, Hofman KJ, Faden RR. The Value of Explicit, Deliberative, and Context-Specified Ethics Analysis for Health Technology Assessment: Evidence From a Novel Approach Piloted in South Africa. Value Health Reg Issues 2023; 34:23-30. [PMID: 36455448 DOI: 10.1016/j.vhri.2022.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This article explores the perceived value, including associated strengths and challenges, of using a context-specified ethics framework to guide deliberative health technology appraisals. METHODS The South African Values and Ethics for Universal Health Coverage (SAVE-UHC) approach, piloted in South Africa, consisted of 2 phases: (1) convening a national multistakeholder working group to develop a provisional ethics framework and (2) testing the provisional ethics framework through simulated health technology assessment appraisal committee meetings (SACs). Three SACs each reviewed 2 case studies of sample health interventions using the framework. Participants completed postappraisal questionnaires and engaged in focus group discussions. RESULTS The SACs involved 27 participants across 3 provinces. Findings from the postappraisal questionnaires demonstrated general support for the SAVE-UHC approach and content of the framework, high levels of satisfaction with the recommendations produced, and general sentiment that participants were able to actively contribute to appraisals. Qualitative data showed participants perceived using a context-specified ethics framework in deliberative decision making: (1) supported wider consideration of and deliberation about morally relevant features of the health coverage decisions, thereby contributing to quality of appraisals; (2) could improve transparency; and (3) offered benefits to those directly involved in the priority-setting process. Participants also identified some challenges and concerns associated with the approach. CONCLUSIONS The SAVE-UHC approach presents a novel way to develop and pilot a locally contextualized, explicit ethics framework for health priority setting. This work highlights how the combination of a context-specified ethics framework and structured deliberative appraisals can contribute to the quality of health technology appraisals and transparency of health priority setting.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carleigh B Krubiner
- Center for Global Development, Washington, DC, USA; Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Aviva Tugendhaft
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Michael J DiStefano
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nicola W Barsdorf
- Office of Research Integrity and Ethics, Division for Research Development, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Maria W Merritt
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Susan J Goldstein
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Atiya Mosam
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Sunita Potgieter
- Office of Research Integrity and Ethics, Division for Research Development, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Karen J Hofman
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Ruth R Faden
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Developing and Piloting a Context-Specified Ethics Framework for Health Technology Assessment: The South African Values and Ethics for Universal Health Coverage (SAVE-UHC) Approach. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 2022; 38:e26. [PMID: 35256036 DOI: 10.1017/s0266462322000113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
3
|
Integration of ethical considerations into HTA reports: an analysis of integration levels using a systematic review. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 2021; 37:e61. [PMID: 33896427 DOI: 10.1017/s0266462321000325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the type and level of ethical integration in published health technology assessment (HTA) reports and systematically identify the ethical approaches utilized. METHODS A literature search was conducted with the Google™ search engine using the keyword "ethic" between 1 January 2015 and 20 August 2019. Only HTA assessment reports with a section on ethics were retained and classified according to their level of ethical integration: no ethical analysis, ethical issues highlighted, assessments according to legal or social norms, and assessments from a moral or axiological perspective-using a qualitative methodology to distinguish such integration. RESULTS This review yielded 188 reports with a section identified as being on ethics, produced by seventeen HTA agencies in eleven countries. One hundred and thirty-six reports did not develop an ethical analysis, thirty-one highlighted ethical issues, seventeen conducted a norm-based ethical assessment using a descriptive approach grounded in social norms, and four developed an assessment grounded in a moral or axiological perspective. The bioethical "four-principles" framework was used, but mainly for presenting ethical issues and not as a moral framework. CONCLUSIONS The majority of reports featuring a section on ethics mention ethical considerations without ethical analysis. Ethical issues are grouped with legal, social, and organizational issues and treated as contextual considerations that decision makers should be aware of. When reports present systematic norm-based ethical assessments from a descriptive perspective or ethical assessment based on a moral or axiological perspective, there is a tendency to ground these analyses in frameworks created for the purpose and reliant on a concept of ethics supporting them.
Collapse
|
4
|
Gonçalves E. Advanced therapy medicinal products: value judgement and ethical evaluation in health technology assessment. THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS : HEPAC : HEALTH ECONOMICS IN PREVENTION AND CARE 2020; 21:311-320. [PMID: 31919703 PMCID: PMC7188714 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-019-01147-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are a heterogeneous class of medicinal products that by offering the potential of cure represent a paradigm shift in the approach of many life-threatening diseases. Although a common regulatory framework for ATMPs has been established in the EU, the health technology assessment (HTA) and financing decisions remain local. The aim of this article is to present an integrated analysis of the current status of the value judgment of ATMPs and the integration of ethical evaluation in the HTA process. It has been identified that approaching the specificities of ATMPs in terms of market access will require a broadening of the definition of value to be able to systematically capture elements of value not traditionally considered. Outcomes modelling will play an important role in the pricing and reimbursement of ATMPs, providing a way to bridge the gap caused by the absence of data from clinical studies or real-world data. Given the nature and disruptive consequences of ATMPs the assessment and adoption of these medicinal products raises important ethical questions, both at a policy and at society level that should be properly addressed. HTA can be made more transparent and reliable, and simultaneously promote robust and accountable decision making, by turning explicit the value judgments implicit in HTA. Ultimately, there should be no core conflict between ethical requirements and HTA in a scenario where the goal is to promote equity and access of patients to truly innovative therapies such as ATMPs, while assuring the sustainability of healthcare systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisabete Gonçalves
- Department of HTA and Market Access, Real World and Late Phase, CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting, Lisboa, Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|