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Core competencies for ethics experts in health technology assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2020

Pietro Refolo Open the ORCID record for Pietro Refolo [Opens in a new window] ,
Kenneth Bond Open the ORCID record for Kenneth Bond [Opens in a new window] ,
Bart Bloemen Open the ORCID record for Bart Bloemen [Opens in a new window] ,
Ilona Autti-Rämö ,
Bjørn Hofmann ,
Claudia Mischke ,
Debjani Mueller Open the ORCID record for Debjani Mueller [Opens in a new window] ,
Sylvia Nabukenya Open the ORCID record for Sylvia Nabukenya [Opens in a new window] ,
Wija Oortwijn Open the ORCID record for Wija Oortwijn [Opens in a new window]  and
Lars Sandman Open the ORCID record for Lars Sandman [Opens in a new window]
...Show all authors
Pietro Refolo*
Affiliation:
Department of Healthcare Surveillance and Bioethics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
Kenneth Bond
Affiliation:
Institute of Health Economics, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Bart Bloemen
Affiliation:
Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Ilona Autti-Rämö
Affiliation:
Council for Choices in Health Care in Finland and Unit for Steering of Services, Department for Steering of Healthcare and Social Welfare, Ministry of Social affairs and Health, Finland
Bjørn Hofmann
Affiliation:
Department of Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Gjøvik, Norway
Claudia Mischke
Affiliation:
Department of Health Care and Health Economics, Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany
Debjani Mueller
Affiliation:
Charlotte Maxeke Research Cluster, Johannesburg, South Africa
Sylvia Nabukenya
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Wija Oortwijn
Affiliation:
Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Lars Sandman
Affiliation:
National Centre for Priorities in Health, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
Michal Stanak
Affiliation:
Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment, Vienna, Austria
Duncan Steele
Affiliation:
Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada
Gert Jan van der Wilt
Affiliation:
Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Dario Sacchini
Affiliation:
Department of Healthcare Surveillance and Bioethics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
*
Author for correspondence: Pietro Refolo, E-mail: pietro.refolo@gmail.com
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Abstract

Objectives

There is no consensus on who might be qualified to conduct ethical analysis in the field of health technology assessment (HTA). Is there a specific expertise or skill set for doing this work? The aim of this article is to (i) clarify the concept of ethics expertise and, based on this, (ii) describe and specify the characteristics of ethics expertise in HTA.

Methods

Based on the current literature and experiences in conducting ethical analysis in HTA, a group of members of the Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Interest Group on Ethical Issues in HTA critically analyzed the collected information during two face-to-face workshops. On the basis of the analysis, working definitions of “ethics expertise” and “core competencies” of ethics experts in HTA were developed. This paper reports the output of the workshop and subsequent revisions and discussions online among the authors.

Results

Expertise in a domain consists of both explicit and tacit knowledge and is acquired by formal training and social learning. There is a ubiquitous ethical expertise shared by most people in society; nevertheless, some people acquire specialist ethical expertise. To become an ethics expert in the field of HTA, one needs to acquire general knowledge about ethical issues as well as specific knowledge of the ethical domain in HTA. The core competencies of ethics experts in HTA consist of three fundamental elements: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Conclusions

The competencies described here can be used by HTA agencies and others involved in HTA to call attention to and strengthen ethical analysis in HTA.

Keywords

EthicsExpertiseCompetencies
Type
Article Commentary
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , December 2020 , pp. 534 - 539
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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