Uruguay
The Division of Health Assessment of the Uruguayan Ministry of Health is in charge of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), required by the Health Minister, among other responsibilites.
– Dr. Ana Pérez, Director, HAD-MSP Uruguay
History & Structure
The Health Assessment Division (HAD) has been working in the HTA field since 2005 in the Ministry of Health of Uruguay but actually established, in 2010, a group of professionals trained in HTA as a separate unit from the principal activity of the Division until then: medical devices, drugs and modified foods registration.
The consolidation of this field has been in response to the need for reliable and timely information on health technologies in the context of the Health Reform that installed the National Health System since 2008.
The HAD-MoH initially focused on HTA of drugs but it has widened the scope to include HTA in other areas such as medical devices, procedures, adapting clinical practice guidelines and incorporation of medical equipment.
The staff of 7 professionals has different skills centered in methodological aspects, and external experts usually collaborate in HTA reports.
Mission
- To contribute to the process of Health Reform by:
- updating Positive Lists of procedures and drugs
- assessing incorporation of medical equipment and health services
- To provide information on safety, efficacy, effectiveness, accessibility, and equity distribution about different technologies, as required by the Minister of Health.
How the Agency Works
The work is conducted in-house in collaboration with experts, mainly physicians from the public University and economists from the Health Economic Division of the Ministry of Health.
The reports are always based on systematic reviews and in some cases we also include economic evaluations.
We do not always disseminate rapid reviews or some confidential reports. Our products are written in Spanish and in the case we disseminate them in the web, abstracts are produced in English.
HAD-MoH is member of the following networks: REDETSA, Mercosur HTA Commission, HTAi Latam Policy Forum.
Dissemination Activities
We disseminate our products in the web page, in public presentations and in the community of practice PRAIS from PAHO.
Recently completed or milestone HTA reports (a selection)
- Eficacia y seguridad de denosumab en la prevención de eventos relacionados con el esqueleto en pacientes con metástasis óseas de tumores sólidos
- Uso de cetuximab para el tratamiento de carcinoma escamoso de cabeza y cuello.
- Uso de Cabazitaxel en el tratamiento de pacientes con cáncer de próstata metastásico hormono refractario que progresan luego de tratamiento con docetaxel.
- Concentrado de complejo protrombínico para el tratamiento de deficiencias congénitas o adquiridas en factores de coagulación.
- Eficacia y seguridad y evaluación económica del uso de lenalidomida para el tratamiento de mieloma múltiple.
- Evaluación costo-utilidad de adalimumab, etanercept e infliximab para el tratamiento de la artritis psoriásica
- Eficacia y seguridad trastuzumab para el tratamiento de cáncer gástrico
- Eficacia y seguridad de adalimumab para el tratamiento de la artritis idiopática juvenil.
- Eficacia y seguridad de los inhibidores del factor de necrosis tumoral para el tratamiento de la espondilitis anquilosante
- Bevacizumab para el tratamiento de cáncer de pulmón de células no pequeñas
- Cetuximab para el tratamiento del cáncer colorrectal metastásico: evaluación económica
- Eficacia y seguridad del uso de decitabina: 5-AZA-2’-Deoxicitidina para el tratamiento del Síndrome Mielodisplásico
- Rituximab y tocilizumab versus adalimumab, etanercept e infliximab para el Tratamiento de la Artritis Reumatoidea en Adultos
- Eficacia y seguridad de vemurafenib en el tratamiento de melanoma metastásico con mutación de BRAF
- Eficacia y seguridad de bevacizumab para el tratamiento de cáncer de pulmón de células no pequeñas con histología de adenocarcinoma
Current Projects (a selection)
- Oncologic therapy
- Medical equipment distribution
- Judicialization of the right of health
Future Plans
- To improve dissemination strategies of the HTA products among:
- policy makers
- clinicians
- general population
- To maintain HTA links at local and international levels
- To train our professionals in new methodologies related with HTA
- To improve the process of adapting CPG to the local context
Agency Information
Country: Uruguay
Description of population served: National
Population served (mil): 3.4 million
Current HTA budget (USD): US$ 15.000 – US$ 30.000
Permanent staff: 7 (partial time)
Consultants: 4 (sporadic collaboration)
Ongoing TA projects: 2
Contact Information
Director: Ana Pérez Galán, MD, MSc
Contact person: Carolina Ramilo Administrative Assistant
Ministry of Public Health of Uruguay
División De Evaluación Sanitaria
AV. 18 de Julio 1892 – Oficina 304
PO Box 11200
Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel: (+598) 1934 – extension 3020/3023
Internet: http://www.msp.gub.uy
Email: des@msp.gub.uy