Health Technology Assessment Development in Vietnam: A Qualitative Study of Current Progress, Barriers, Facilitators, and Future Strategies

Hwa-Young Lee, Thuy Thi-Thu Nguyen, Saeun Park, Hoang Van Minh and Woong-Han Kim
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Hwa-Young Lee: Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Thuy Thi-Thu Nguyen: Department of Organization and Economics of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Saeun Park: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN 55455, USA
Hoang Van Minh: Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi 1000, Vietnam
Woong-Han Kim: Program in Global Surgery and Implementation Science, JW LEE Center for Global Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03087, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Introduction: To make more efficient use of limited resources, Vietnam incorporated health technology assessment (HTA) into the decision-making process for the health insurance benefit package in 2014. We evaluated progress in HTA institutionalization in Vietnam based on the theoretical framework developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program, identified negative and conducive factors for HTA development, and finally suggested policy recommendations that fit the Vietnamese context. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between December 2017 and March and April 2018 with a purposive sample of 24 stakeholders involved in decision-making for health insurance reimbursement. We employed thematic analysis to examine themes within the data. Results: Despite a variety of activities (e.g., training and advising/mentoring) and a substantial level of output (e.g., policy statements, focal points assigned, and case studies/demonstration projects), Vietnam has not yet reached the policy decision stage based on HTA with scientific integrity and active stakeholder participation. Most respondents, except some clinicians, supported the use of HTA. The lack of capacity of human resources in the government sector and academia, the limited data infrastructure, the absence of guidelines, the government’s interest in immediate budget-saving, and public resistance were identified as barriers to the advancement of HTA. Conclusions: A structured data repository, guidelines based on the Vietnamese context for both policy decision-making at the central level and daily clinical decision-making at the micro-level, and integration of a participatory process into HTA are suggested as priorities for HTA institutionalization in Vietnam.

Keywords: health technology assessment; economic evaluation; low- and middle-income countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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