Evaluation of the Availability of Hospital-Based Health Technology Assessment in Public and Private Hospitals in Turkey: Ankara Province Sample

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the extent to which hospitals and managers take the hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) approach into account in their decision-making processes regarding medical device/equipment acquisition. MethodsThe questionnaire was developed as a data collection tool and administered to a total of 186 administrators from 33 hospitals in Ankara. ResultsAll domains of HB-HTA are taken into consideration in both private and public hospitals but more in private hospitals than public hospitals (P<.001). The importance given to the domains of HB-HTA approach varies according to the characteristics of the hospitals and managers. In addition, it was seen that training hospitals were more likely to consider clinical effectiveness, and safety in specialty hospitals was more important. In addition, medical managers focus more on the clinical effectiveness, whereas administrative and financial managers are more concerned with cost/economic effectiveness. Moreover, the organizational aspects dimension of the HB-HTA was taken into account as the working duration of the managers in the health sector increased. ConclusionsHospitals and managers with different characteristics benefit from the domains of the approach at different levels. To contribute to the use of HB-HTA approach in hospitals and to increase awareness, regional initiatives can be undertaken by encouraging hospitals.