PND58 Interconnected HTA Map for Alzheimer's Disease – Analysis of Divergence and Collaboration Patterns

Abstract

To gain insights into technology assessments of Alzheimer's disease and to reveal the diverse influences on reimbursement decisions in the interconnected HTA universe. Eighty-four reports published by twenty two Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies between 2000 and 2012 were identified that evaluate treatments for Alzheimer's disease (fifty eight of them assessed pharmaceuticals). Data extracted from those reports was supplemented with published information from other sources and divided into data categories (agencies, institutions, assessments, and people). Multiple attributes such as location, affiliation, membership, type of technology, decision on technology, degree of influence, type of influence were assigned to each category and to connections between them. The visual analysis software and social networking analysis techniques were applied to this complex and densely interconnected dataset to observe the engagement and influence of various actors in reimbursement decisions. The visual analysis enabled to reveal commonalities and differences of approaches in evaluating Alzheimer's treatments between agencies (decisions vs patient population, decision drivers). It also allowed identifying patterns of collaboration on specific assessments where agencies were referring to each other, referring to the same sources such as Cochrane reviews, European Collaboration Initiatives (Alzheimer Europe, European Federation of Neurological Societies, European Medicines Agency Guideline), professional association guidelines (Alzheimer disease association, American College of Physicians). Alzheimer's disease HTA pathway is known for the disparities in decisions and approaches among agencies. Applying social network analysis allowed identification of patterns of mutual influence and indirect collaboration in the bigger context of these decisions.