Abstract

About this Executive Summary
This comprehensive executive summary reports on a case study designed to demonstrate the application of a number of the key concepts and methods developed in the INTEGRATE-HTA project to the assessment of complex technologies. The case study focuses on models of home based palliative care with and without an additional element of caregiver support, known as reinforced and non-reinforced home based palliative care respectively.
What is already known about the topic
With changing disease patterns in Europe, increasingly complex health care technologies, such as palliative care, have gained importance.
Current HTA methods rarely take account of wider legal, ethical and socio-cultural issues or context and implementation and are not adequately equipped to assess highly complex technologies, despite considerable progress in recent years. As a result, HTA is rarely applied to highly complex health technologies.
What this case study report adds
The INTEGRATE-HTA project developed concepts and methods for the assessment of complex technologies, taking into account legal, ethical and socio-cultural issues as well as context and implementation.
This case study is designed to demonstrate the application of a number of the key concepts and methods developed in the INTEGRATE-HTA project to home based palliative care, with and without an additional element of caregiver support, as an example of a complex technology; known as “reinforced” and “non-reinforced” home based palliative care respectively.
The INTEGRATE-HTA model, developed to enable integration of relevant assessment aspects, is used to structure this report.
The case study reports on the application of some of the concepts and methods developed within the INTEGRATE-HTA project to the assessment of effectiveness as well as economic, sociocultural, ethical, and legal aspects; patient preferences and patient-specific moderators of treatment and context and implementation issues related to reinforced and non-reinforced home based palliative care.
The highly complex nature of reinforced and non-reinforced home based palliative care is illustrated through an assessment of complexity characteristics.
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The case study also involved extensive lay and professional stakeholder involvement, using a variety of methods, to inform the HTA process at key stages throughout the project.
Key messages are highlighted for both HTA research and for palliative care.
The implications for research and practice
The concepts and methods developed in the INTEGRATE-HTA project have been shown to be feasible and to have the potential to offer added value, but require further development and application in the assessment of other complex technologies.
Reinforced and non-reinforced models palliative care are highly complex. The case study findings offer some insights into their effectiveness as well as economic, sociocultural, ethical, and legal issues; patient preferences and patient-specific moderators of treatment as well as context and implementation issues.