Sivalal Sadasivan
School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Monash University Sunway Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 56150 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.
Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2009 Jul;25 Suppl 1:196-201. doi: 10.1017/S0266462309090631. Epub 2009 Jun 18.
Although health technology assessment (HTA) has been well established in all developed countries, it has not found a firm footing in many developing countries. This is especially true of the Asia Pacific region, which has much of the world population.
The beginnings of HTA in this region go back to the work of Dr. David Banta in China and the establishment of the Asian HTA Network. The Network embarked on increasing awareness and building capacity among personnel from the region. Attempts were made to introduce HTA in countries where it did not exist, as well as to strengthen existing HTA programs. The Network had regular meetings, and also carried out a study on the diffusion and utilization of magnetic resonance imaging in the region. In an attempt to boost the efforts of the Network, the author spearheaded the organization of the Asian Regional HTA Conferences in Kuala Lumpur in 2000 and 2003, and in Manila, Philippines, in 2004. In addition, the author carried out a survey on HTA in the region. There are two broad categories of countries in the region: Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, China, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, which have formal HTA programs, and others for which informal mechanisms or related activities exist, which include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
It is important that once HTA is established, it is used effectively. Perseverance and dedication is needed to ensure the success of an HTA program.
Some countries in the region have effective HTA programs, whereas in some, efforts are being made to establish HTA, or HTA-related activities are being carried out in the absence of a formal HTA program.
尽管卫生技术评估（HTA）在所有发达国家已得到充分确立，但在许多发展中国家尚未站稳脚跟。亚太地区尤其如此，该地区拥有世界上大部分人口。
该地区HTA的起步可追溯到戴维·班塔博士在中国开展的工作以及亚洲HTA网络的建立。该网络着手提高该地区人员的认识并建设能力。在不存在HTA的国家尝试引入HTA，同时加强现有的HTA项目。该网络定期举行会议，还对该地区磁共振成像的推广和应用进行了一项研究。为推动该网络的工作，作者率先于2000年和2003年在吉隆坡以及2004年在菲律宾马尼拉组织了亚洲地区HTA会议。此外，作者对该地区的HTA进行了一项调查。该地区有两大类国家：澳大利亚、马来西亚、新加坡、新西兰、中国、菲律宾、韩国、泰国和台湾，这些国家有正式的HTA项目；其他国家存在非正式机制或相关活动，包括孟加拉国、不丹、文莱、柬埔寨、印度、印度尼西亚、老挝、马尔代夫、蒙古、尼泊尔、巴基斯坦、斯里兰卡和越南。
重要的是，一旦确立了HTA，就要有效加以利用。确保HTA项目的成功需要毅力和奉献精神。
该地区一些国家有有效的HTA项目，而在一些国家，正在努力建立HTA，或者在没有正式HTA项目的情况下开展与HTA相关的活动。
