Main Challenges of Incorporating Environmental Impacts in the Economic Evaluation of Health Technology Assessment: A Scoping Review

Carmen Guirado-Fuentes, Analía Abt-Sacks (), María del Mar Trujillo-Martín, Lidia García-Pérez, Leticia Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Carme Carrion i Ribas and Pedro Serrano-Aguilar
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Carmen Guirado-Fuentes: Canary Islands Health Research Institute Foundation (FIISC), 38320 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Analía Abt-Sacks: Canary Islands Health Research Institute Foundation (FIISC), 38320 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
María del Mar Trujillo-Martín: Canary Islands Health Research Institute Foundation (FIISC), 38320 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Lidia García-Pérez: Canary Islands Health Research Institute Foundation (FIISC), 38320 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Leticia Rodríguez-Rodríguez: Canary Islands Health Research Institute Foundation (FIISC), 38320 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Carme Carrion i Ribas: Research Network on Health Services for Chronic Conditions (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Pedro Serrano-Aguilar: Research Network on Health Services for Chronic Conditions (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: Health technology assessment (HTA) provides evidence-based information on healthcare technology to support decision making in many countries. Environmental impact is a relevant dimension of a health technology’s value, but it has been poorly addressed in HTA processes in spite of the commitment that the health sector must have to contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. This study aims to identify the state of the art and challenges for quantifying environmental impacts that could be incorporated into the economic evaluation (EE) of HTA. We performed a scoping review that included 22 articles grouped into four types of contribution: (1) concepts to draw up a theoretical framework, (2) HTA reports, (3) parameter designs or suitable indicators, and (4) economic or budgetary impact assessments. This review shows that evaluation of the environmental impact of HTAs is still very incipient. Small steps are being taken in EE, such as carbon footprint estimations from a life-cycle approach of technologies and the entire care pathway.

Keywords: carbon footprint; climate change; economic evaluation; environmental impact; greenhouse gases; health technology assessment; life-cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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