Introduction to Ethics in Health Technology Assessment.

Background: The relevance of incorporating ethical analysis into an HTA is increasingly acknowledged. Accordingly, there is a need for experts involved in HTA to learn and to apply methods that can be used to explore potential ethical implications of health care technologies. This half day introductory course in Ethics in HTA combines lectures, discussions and case study group work. The Faculty who are leading this course is a group of international experts who have contributed substantially over the last several years to methodological developments in this area. Requirements/Prerequisites: This course offers a lively introduction to the role of ethics for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for those who are familiar with HTA, but who are not that familiar with ethics in HTA. Description/Objectives: The course has been specifically developed for international participants and is based on more recent international achievements in the field. It will emphasize adapting approaches in ethics for all types of health technologies and across international settings. Participants who attend this course will strengthen their understanding and facilitate their participation in ethical assessment in HTA, as well their ability to participate in broader discussions.Most importantly it provides a number of approaches for ‘how to’ incorporate ethics into an HTA. After the preconference workshop participants will be able to: • explain and acknowledge the role of ethical issues in HTA, • recognize potential ethical issues in HTA and formulate appropriate research questions, • know and use methodology for analyzing ethical issues, • know how to critically appraise primary research aimed at identifying ethical implications of health care technologies. • describe different ways of synthesizing and communicating the results of ethics analyses.