We are a group that was established at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, around the study program Systematic Integration of Processes in Healthcare (SIPZ). We strive to exploit the synergies between technology-oriented professionals at our faculty and various other specializations, including economics, biology, epidemiology, medicine and nursing. Our focus is on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and, more broadly, the whole area of health outcomes research.
HTA
We perceive HTA as an ever-changing and evolving intersection of humanistic, technical and scientific approaches. The main expectation placed on the HTA is the ability to provide decision-making tools and evidence to stakeholders, taking into account their individual views. This is much more than just a cost-effectiveness calculation from a payer's perspective. We are also trying to develop other HTA approaches, such as performance-based agreements and we challenge the existing methods in their use in the local setups.
Outcomes Research
We see outcomes research mainly in the late phase of the life cycle of medical technologies when they are used in real clinical practice. Here we are mainly interested in complex links and processes, such as the patient-physician relationship, treatment availability, compliance and adherence to treatment, and benchmarking in quality of health care. In our research projects, we utilise administration data of national payers as well as conservative methods such as patient and physician questionnaires and delphi panels.
