The promising application of health technology assessment in public health: a review of background information and considerations for future development

Introduction Health technology assessment (HTA) is a multidisciplinary approach to the evaluation of health-care technologies, which aims to support the decision-making process by driving medical, technical and economic knowledge. It is characterised by the contextual examination of epidemiological, clinical, economic, social, ethical and organisational implications. Main part Even if it was born in fields other than medicine, HTA has progressively spread as an innovative tool to assess health-care technologies such as drugs, medical devices and surgical procedures. Through a scientific literature review the purpose of applying HTA to public health was explained and discussed. Tackling interventions to control health determinants has great potential for reducing the burden of disease and for promoting health in the general population. Anyway health expenditure for public health is low: this could threaten interventions and damage the role of public health itself. HTA could represent a guide to best invest in this field and to gain in efficacy and effectiveness in line with current strategies to implement health services in all sectors. Conclusion HTA could represent a good tool to address all topics and problems pertaining to choices in public health and could allow decision-makers to best invest scarce available resources.