Abstract:
Health research is considered an essential element for the improvement of
population health and it has been recommended that a share of the national
health budget should be allocated to develop this field. Chile has undertaken
efforts in the last decades in order to improve the governmental structure created
to promote the development of health research, which has increased human
resources and funding opportunities. On the other hand, the sustained economic
growth of Chile in the last decades suggests that the health expenditure will
maintain its increasing trend in the following years. This additional funding
could be used to improve coverage of current activities performed in the health
system, but also to address the incorporation of new strategies. More recently,
health technology assessment (HTA) has been proposed as a process to support
decisions about allocation of resources based on scientific evidence. This paper
examines the relationship between the development of health research and the
HTA process. First, it presents a brief diagnosis of the situation of health research
in Chile. Second, it reviews the conceptual basis and the methods that account for
the relationship between a HTA process and the development of health research.
In particular, it emphasizes the relevance of identifying information gaps where
funding additional research can be considered a good use of public resources.
Finally, it discusses the challenges and possible courses of action that Chile could
take in order to guarantee the continuous improvement of an articulated structure
for health research and HTA.
