EHTEL members and friends are invited to contribute opinions to a survey that will influence major directions in the definition and use of digital health technologies. Your opportunity to participate in this activity runs until 24 September 2024.
The European Digital Health Technology Assessment (EDiHTA) initiative aims to establish a framework for the assessment of digital health technologies. Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), a professional society, supports the initiative. The Norwegian Centre for E-health Research (NSE), an EHTEL member, encourages you to respond.
EHTEL is pleased to ask members of its network to participate in a two-round Delphi survey aimed at developing a common definition and taxonomy (classification) for digital health technologies. All activities are aimed ultimately at creating and defining a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) instrument.
Why should I participate?
Your input will play a crucial role in defining and categorising digital health technologies. Ultimately, it will influence the assessment and application of the technologies in policy and practice. Key to many of the areas of investigation is artificial intelligence.
Does my profile match the intended survey respondents?
EHTEL’s network of stakeholders very much matches the survey organisers’ expectations. EDiHTA welcomes responses from many types of stakeholders: technology developers, regulators, health technology assessment experts, payers, policymakers, health professionals, and patients or caregivers. EDiHTA seeks responses from participants with a high – or even moderate – level of expertise in digital health or artificial intelligence. This includes respondents with knowledge of key terms or with experience in developing, assessing or using digital health technologies (beyond those that have been designed for wellness purposes, such as step trackers and calorie counters).
How should I participate?
Click on this link to access the survey. The first round of the Delphi survey is open until 24 September 2024. Your participation in it is voluntary, and you can withdraw at any time.
Source: EDiHTA website.
What kinds of questions will I answer?
This initial Delphi survey has several parts. The parts contain a number of questions of potential interest to EHTEL members who work on or with, or who use, digital health technologies. Crucially:
- Do you believe that artificial intelligence is part of digital health technologies?
And there are several deep-dive exploratory questions on digital health technologies, whether powered by AI or not:
- Stages in the (research) life-cycle of digital health technologies.
- Intended purposes of digital health technology use.
- The digital health architecture.
- The importance of the primary user(s) of the digital health technology.
- The seriousness of the health condition being supported.
- The capacity of the technology to personalise responses for the user.
- The ‘autonomous nature’ of the technology in terms of human intervention.
Background information
Find further information on EDiHTA.
To read the full content of the Delphi survey, see the Resource below.
EDiHTA is due to continue its work for a further two+ years. Getting involved with this Delphi survey will enable you to follow in more depth the directions that health technology assessment will take on policy and practice in the future.
Because EDiHTA has already undertaken a scoping review of the literature around digital health technologies, answering the survey will already open your eyes to a great deal of information about classes and ‘sub-classes’ of digital health technologies, and what is expected of health technology assessment in this field.
Who to contact for more information on the survey?
For any queries: Contact Dr. Wija Oortwijn, EDiHTA workpackage lead at w.oortwijn@radboudumc.nl or Ms. Annapoorna Prakash at annapoorna.prakash@radboudumc.nl.