Prepared by: Harry Handelsman, D.O.

Health Technology Assessment

Number 3

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Rockville, Maryland

October 1994

AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0004

View the Medline Citation and Related Citations using PubMed

The Office of Health Technology Assessment (OHTA) evaluates the risks, benefits, and clinical effectiveness of new or unestablished medical technologies. In most instances, assessments address technologies that are being reviewed for purposes of coverage by federally funded health programs.

OHTA's assessment process includes a comprehensive review of the medical literature and emphasizes broad and open participation from within and outside the Federal Government. A range of expert advice is obtained by widely publicizing the plans for conducting the assessment through publication of an announcement in the Federal Register and solicitation of input from Federal agencies, medical specialty societies, insurers, and manufacturers. The involvement of these experts helps ensure inclusion of the experienced and varying viewpoints needed to round out the data derived from individual scientific studies in the medical literature.

After OHTA receives information from experts and the scientific literature, the results are analyzed and synthesized into an assessment report. Each report represents a detailed analysis of the risks, clinical effectiveness, and uses of new or unestablished medical technologies. If an assessment has been prepared to form the basis for a coverage decision by a federally financed health care program, it serves as the Public Health Service's recommendation to that program and is disseminated widely.

OHTA is one component of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services.

Thomas V. Holohan, M.D.

Director

Office of Health Technology Assessment

Clifton R. Gaus, Sc.D.

Administrator

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research

Questions regarding this assessment should be directed to:

Office of Health Technology Assessment

AHCPR

Willco Building, Suite 309

6000 Executive Boulevard

Rockville, MD 20852

Telephone: (301) 594-4023