HTAi Patient Preferences Webinar Series

A series of four one-hour webinars providing an introduction to patient preference research that over the series will explore its use in HTA.

The development of patient involvement in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) represents a shift towards increased patient-centricity in the allocation of scarce health resource.

In the past decade, the focus has been on supporting ‘expert patients’ or patient representatives to participate in the HTA appraisal process, with individual patients or patient organisations invited to contribute information in-person or via a structured template.

However, participation in this way is only one aspect of patient involvement: another way is the use of evidence generated from patient-centred research. Systematic approaches to studying patient needs, choices, experiences and preferences can yield important findings to help resolve uncertainties in clinical and cost effectiveness.

One form of evidence that has received increased interest in recent years is patient preference studies. These studies systematically capture qualitative and/or quantitative information on how patients value the benefits, risks and other characteristics of potential treatment alternatives using specific methods for patient preference elicitation.

Patient preference studies could help identify the outcomes and improvements that are most important to patients, while potentially addressing some of the perceived challenges with patient participation approaches, including the robustness, quality, partiality and consistency of input.

However, the role of patient preference evidence in HTA is as yet undetermined and remains a subject of continued interest and debate: how can we best embrace new forms of patient-based evidence alongside more traditional forms of input, and will patient preference evidence redefine the future of ‘the patient voice’ in HTA?

HTAi aims to consider each timezone, and all sessions will be recorded for subsequent viewing.

Each webinar is approximately 60-minutes long.

Webinar One

Introduction to Patient Preferences in HTA Decision-Making
The first of four webinars to help HTAs better understand the role of patient preferences in HTA reviews.

This webinar will provide some basic understanding of what patient preferences are, how they can be used in HTAs, and provide participants with an opportunity to raise questions to be addressed in this or subsequent webinars.

Moderators:

• Simon Fifer, Director of Research and Innovation, Community and Patient Preference Research (CaPPRe), Australia
• Barry Liden, Patient Engagement, MedTech Industry Executive, Edwards Lifesciences; Advocate; Adjunct Faculty, Associate Professor at Georgetown University

Panelists:

• Ann Single, PCIG Chair
• John Rose, University of Technology Sydney
• Deborah Marshall, Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and PCIG
• Patient Preferences Group member
• Patient Preferences Group member

Date: June 29 2020, 06:00 MDT (UTC -6)

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Webinar Two

Designing Patient Preference Studies for HTA— Moving from Aspiration to Application in Patient Engagement

Patient and patient advocacy engagement in HTA has evolved in recent years to include consideration of patient perspectives by expert committees making recommendations on coverage. As the role of evidence from routine clinical practice, patient reported outcomes and patient experiences grows, patient values and preference data provided by patients and patient advocacy groups provide opportunity for a better appreciation of the patient experience.

Panelists:

• Deborah A Marshall (Moderator), Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and PCIG Patient Preferences Group member
• Barry Stein (Moderator), Patient Engagement, MedTech Industry Executive, Edwards Lifesciences; Advocate; Adjunct Faculty, Associate Professor at Georgetown University
• Alexandra Chambers, Manager, National Oncology Policy, Novartis Oncology
• Winson Cheung, Professor of Medicine, Department of Oncology, University of Calgary; Provincial Director, Health Services Research, Cancer Control Alberta.

Date: July 24, 2020, 06:00 MDT (UTC -6)

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Webinar Three

Patient Preferences Research in HTA Decision-Making

Webinars One and Two have introduced how patient preferences research can be undertaken to inform questions of relevance to HTA. There has been recognition that this rigorous research can provide robust patient-based evidence that could inform HTA recommendations and decision-making. However, few HTA bodies are aware of the rigour of patient preference research or where it could inform the value judgments and help resolve the uncertainties that are inherent in HTA.

Webinar Three will involve presentations from three HTA bodies across the globe and a research organization, demonstrating how patient preferences have been used in actual HTAs for different forms of health technology. Panel discussion will explore where patient preference research can add the most value in HTA,

challenges to using this type of evidence to inform decision-making and what can be done to facilitate its use in HTA.

PANELISTS:

• Karen Facey (Moderator), Evidence-Based Health Policy Consultant, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
• Adrian Skelly (Moderator), Global Strategic Assistant to Head of Global Patient Access, Novartis Pharma, Switzerland
• Simon Fifer, Director of Research and Innovation, Community and Patient Preference Research (CaPPRe), Australia
• Irina Cleemput, Senior Health Economist, Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE), Belgium
• Jacoline Bouvy, Senior Scientific Advisor, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), UK
• Nancy Sikich, Clinical Epidemiologist, Health

DATE: September 28, 2020
TIME: 6:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. MDT

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Webinar Four

Patient Preferences and Values Studies in Oncology and Rare Diseases– Redefining Patient Advocacy in the HTA

Webinars One, Two and Three have examined how patient preferences research can be undertaken to inform questions of relevance to HTA and presentations from three HTA bodies across the globe and a research organization have demonstrated how patient preferences have been used in actual HTAs for different forms of health technology.

The final webinar in the series will explore how patient preferences and values research can redefine patient advocacy and move it into an era of empirical evidence. It will look at the practicalities involved in conducting preference and values research, using specific examples from oncology and rare diseases.

There will also be a summary of learnings from all four webinars and a discussion around what action can be taken to encourage patient organizations to undertake more preferences research and for how HTAs can incorporate this research more readily into their decision-making.

PANELISTS:

• Eric Low (Moderator), Director, Eric Lowe Consulting, Scotland
• Barry Stein (Moderator), CEO, Colorectal Cancer Canada, Switzerland
• Zack Pemberton-Whiteley, Leukaemia Care UK, England
• Axel Muehlbacher, Professor of Health Economics & Healthcare Management, Hochschule Neubrandenburg, Germany

DATE: October 26, 2020, 7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. MDT

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PCIG Webinar to INAHTA

In 2017, the PCIG presented an overview of their experiences with patient involvement to the membership of INAHTA. In this webinar the work of two HTA agencies, who have used the PCIG resources are presented, along with an overview of the work of the IGs and the desire for a collaborative approach to patient involvement.

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Do Patient Preferences Influence HTA Decisions?

Date: November 18, 2021 

The HTAi PCIG Patient Preference Sub-Committee has initiated a project designed to improve the likelihood that patient preferences can and will be used more frequently in HTA decision-making. The initial step in the project is to conduct an assessment of the current landscape of HTA use of patient preferences in HTA decision-making, and interest in doing so if not currently doing so. Out of that assessment, the PPWG will facilitate a co-created patient preference study between multiple HTA’s in a case study, where observations about best practices and considerations for adoption will be made.

• Moderator: HTAi PCIG PPWG representative, Barry D. Stein, President/CEO Colorectal Cancer Canada
• HTAi PCIG PPWG co-chair, Barry Liden, VP Patient Engagement, Edwards Lifesciences to present HTA survey findings
• HTA representatives to react to findings and share thoughts/responses to questions:
• Jacoline Bouvy Technical Director, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE
• Nicole Mittmann Chief Scientist/VP, Evidence Standards, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
• Laurie Lambert Lead, Real World Evidence Strategy, Evidence Standards, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
• Industry representative to react to findings and share thoughts/responses to questions
• Alex Chambers Manager, Health Policy and Patient Access, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada

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HTA Informing Innovative Drugs’ Market Access in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Date: January 20, 2022

The WHO identifies achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a strategic priority, encompassing a full range of essential health services, of which technology constitutes a core component. It is a significant challenge for many countries, especially low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), to increase their use of scarce public resources to ensure their citizens’ access to innovative pharmaceuticals. The dilemma of high costs, limited access, and UHC calls for innovative approaches and solutions.

This webinar demonstrates how HTA informs innovative drugs market access in different LMICs, and it could address how HTA researchers or HTA institutions respond to the innovative technology with capacity competency. It is a pilot to facilitate HTA communication and collaboration by DCIG. It will map market entry, reimbursement policy for innovative drugs and HTA roles, value frameworks and methodology, institutional challenges, and potential regional/international HTA collaboration.

Speakers will present innovative drugs market entry and reimbursement in different continents, analyzing how HTA is conducted and the value frameworks used in different countries. It will summarize challenges to HTA capacity or competency and information shared with other countries for reference

• Moderator: Yingyao Chen
• Jeonghoon, from Korea, Korea experience
• Debora Aligieri (Patient representative Brazil)
• Salome Meyer (Patient representative, Cancer Association, South Africa)
• Kiusiang Tay-Teo, (Health Products Policy and Standards Medicines and Health Products, WHO.
• Mouna Jameleddine, INEAS, Tunisia

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