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International Regulations and Recommendations for Utility Data for Health Technology Assessment

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Abstract

Recommendations and guidelines for the collection, generation, source and usage of utility data for health technology assessment (HTA) vary across different countries, with no international consensus. Many international agencies generate their own guidelines providing details on their preferred methods for HTA submissions, and there is variability in both what they recommend and the clarity and amount of detail provided in their guidelines. This article provides an overview of international regulations and recommendations for utility data in HTA for a selection of key HTA countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (Catalonia), Sweden and the UK (England/Wales and Scotland). International guidelines are typically clear and detailed for the selection of countries assessed regarding the source description of health states (e.g. generic preference-based measure) and who should provide preference weights for these health states (e.g. general population for own country). Many guidelines specify the use of off-the-shelf generic preference-based measures, and some further specify a measure, such as EQ-5D. However, international guidelines are either unclear or lack detailed guidance regarding the collection (e.g. patients report own health), source (e.g. clinical trial) and usage (e.g. adjusting for comorbidities) of utility values. It is argued that there is a need for transparent and detailed international guidelines on utility data recommendations to provide decision makers with the best possible evidence. Where this is not possible it is recommended that best practice should be used to inform the collection, source and usage of utility values in HTA.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Nick Bansback for comments on an earlier draft, and Prof. Jon Karnon, Ph.D., of The University of Adelaide and Dr. Andrew Lloyd, Ph.D., of Bladen Associates Ltd for their editorial review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 30 Regent Street, Sheffield, S1 4DA, UK

    Donna Rowen & Ben van Hout

  2. Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG, Thurgauerstrasse 130, 8152, Glattpark-Opfikon (Zurich), Switzerland

    Ismail Azzabi Zouraq & Helene Chevrou-Severac

Authors
  1. Donna Rowen
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  2. Ismail Azzabi Zouraq
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  3. Helene Chevrou-Severac
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  4. Ben van Hout
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Contributions

DR extracted and analysed the evidence from the literature, wrote the first draft of the manuscript and made final edits. IA extracted some data, checked the extraction and contributed to the manuscript. HC contributed to the manuscript. BvH checked the extraction and contributed to the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donna Rowen.

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Disclosure statement

This article is published in a special edition journal supplement wholly funded by Takeda Pharmaceutical International AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

Funding

This study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG.

Conflict of interest

Ismail Azzabi-Zouraq and Helene Chevrou-Severac are employed by Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG. Donna Rowen and Ben van Hout have no conflicts of interest.

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Rowen, D., Azzabi Zouraq, I., Chevrou-Severac, H. et al. International Regulations and Recommendations for Utility Data for Health Technology Assessment. PharmacoEconomics 35 (Suppl 1), 11–19 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-017-0544-y

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