Science Evidence and Analytics Directorate, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK.
Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands.
Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2024 Nov 4;40(1):e44. doi: 10.1017/S0266462324000412.
The sandbox approach, developed in the financial technologies sector, creates an environment to collaboratively develop and test innovative new products, methods and regulatory approaches, separated from business as usual. It has been used in health care to encourage innovation in response to emerging challenges, but, until recently, has not been used in health technology assessment (HTA). This article summarizes our learnings from using the sandbox approach to address three challenges facing HTA organizations and to identify implications for the use of this approach in HTA.
We identified three challenging contemporary HTA-related topics to explore in a sandbox environment, away from the pressures and interests of "live" assessments. We convened a pool of 120 stakeholders and experts to participate in various sandbox activities and ultimately co-develop solutions to help HTA organizations respond to the identified challenges.
Important general learnings about the potential benefits and implementation of a sandbox approach in HTA were identified. Consequently, we developed recommendations to guide its use, including how to implement an HTA sandbox in an effective way and the types of challenges for which it may be best suited.
For many HTA organizations, it is difficult to carefully consider emerging challenges and innovate their processes due to risks associated with decision errors and resource limitations. The sandbox approach could reduce these barriers. The potential benefits of addressing HTA challenges in a collaborative "safe space" are considerable.
沙盒方法是在金融技术领域开发的，它创建了一个协作开发和测试创新新产品、方法和监管方法的环境，与常规业务分开。它已在医疗保健领域用于鼓励创新以应对新出现的挑战，但直到最近，尚未在卫生技术评估（HTA）中使用。本文总结了我们在使用沙盒方法应对 HTA 组织面临的三个挑战方面的经验教训，并确定了该方法在 HTA 中的应用的影响。
我们确定了三个具有挑战性的当代 HTA 相关主题，以在沙盒环境中进行探索，远离“实时”评估的压力和利益。我们召集了 120 名利益相关者和专家参与各种沙盒活动，并最终共同制定解决方案，以帮助 HTA 组织应对确定的挑战。
确定了在 HTA 中使用沙盒方法的潜在好处和实施方面的重要一般经验。因此，我们提出了指导其使用的建议，包括如何有效地实施 HTA 沙盒以及它最适合解决的挑战类型。
对于许多 HTA 组织来说，由于与决策错误和资源限制相关的风险，很难仔细考虑新出现的挑战并创新其流程。沙盒方法可以减少这些障碍。在协作“安全空间”中解决 HTA 挑战的潜在好处是相当大的。
