Authors' objectives:

1. To explore the most useful sources for identifying new healthcare technologies.

2. To make recommendations to assist the establishment and operation of an early warning system (EWS) in the UK.

Authors' recommendations: A combination of the following information sources (many of which can now be accessed via the Internet) is recommended, and is based on all four methods: scanning of 'specialist' medical journals, key medical journals, FDA licensing applications, key pharmaceutical journals and conference abstracts, and liaison with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, to produce a database of potential technologies regular meetings and/or surveys involving sentinel groups of expert health professionals. An EWS, established at a national level, could help to inform the preparation of guidelines for commissioners of health care (whether health authorities or general practitioner consortia) in advance of the introduction of new innovations, the estimation of future expenditure implications, and the establishment of national priorities for researching cost-effectiveness. Such an EWS should be evaluated. The value of anEWS for health technology assessment purposes should be judged by the extent to which it facilitates timely research-based evidence on new technologies.

Authors' methods: Review

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.hta.ac.uk/961

Year Published: 1999

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England, United Kingdom

Organisation Name: NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme

Contact Address: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK

Contact Name: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

Contact Email: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

Copyright: 2009 Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO