ABSTRACT
Health technology assessment (HTA) is a comprehensive, systematic assessment of the conditions for and the consequences of using a health technology in the health care system (Banta 2003; Banta and Jonsson 2009). HTA was rst conceptualized four decades ago as a response to the rise in health care costs and the increased need to regulate the introduction of new health technologies to the market (Wallner and Konski 2008; Banta and Jonsson 2009). The aim of HTA is to provide decision makers in health care with information that is relevant in making funding, planning, purchasing, investing and clinical decisions (Banta 2003). While this is a broad area of interest, HTA in practice is characterized by a focus on clinical impact and cost-effectiveness analysis of health technology (Banta 2003; Akkazieva et al. 2006). In recent years it was argued that social, legal and ethical aspects should be included in the assessment process of health care innovations to fulll the aims of HTA and to realize its full potential (Banta 2003; Hailey and Nordwall 2006).
