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Medical technology assessment is the objective evaluation of a medical technology regarding its safety and performance, its impact on clinical and non-clinical patient outcomes as well as its interactive effects on economical, organizational, social, juridical and ethical aspects of healthcare. Medical technologies are assessed both in absolute terms and in comparison to other medical technologies, procedures, treatments or ‘doing-nothing’.
The aim of MTA is to provide objective, high-quality information that relevant stakeholders use for decision-making about for example development, pricing, market access and reimbursement of new medical technologies. As such, MTA is similar to health technology assessment , except that HTA has a wider scope and may include assessments of for example organizational or financial interventions.
The classical approach of MTA is to evaluate technologies after they enter the marketplace. Yet, a growing number of researchers and policy-makers argue that new technologies should be evaluated before they diffuse into routine clinical practice. MTA of biomedical innovations in a very early stage of development could improve health outcomes, minimise wrong investment and prevent social and ethical conflicts.
One particular method within the area of early MTA is constructive technology assessment. CTA is particularly appropriate for the early assessment of dynamic technologies that are implemented under uncertain circumstances. CTA is based on the idea that during the course of technology development, choices are constantly being made about the form, the function, and the use of that technology. Especially in early stages, technologies are not always stable, nor are its specifications and neither is its use, as both technology and environment will mutually influence each other. In recent years, CTA has developed from assessing the impact of a new technology to a much broader approach, including the analysis of design, development, and implementation of that new technology.