The rapid development of health technology brings great hope for the success of a therapy but also has challenges for Indonesia, namely the possibility of increasing health costs.

To ensure that health technologies adopted provide optimal benefits, especially for the community, information is needed to support evidence-based decision-making regarding effectiveness and efficiency in relation to available resources in order to be sustainable and equitable.

As one of the government's strategic efforts in realizing the commitment to increase access to the public, to safe, effective, and efficient drugs and medical technology, a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is needed.

Friday, October 18, 2024, the Ministry of Health officially launched the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Business Process. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) One Stop One Standard in Jakarta.

The launch was conducted by Minister of Health Budi G. Sadikin accompanied by President Director of BPJS Kesehatan Ali Ghufron Mukti, Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices L. Rizka Andalucia and Head of the Health Development Policy Agency Syarifah Liza Munira.

In his report, the Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Health Equipment said that this one-stop and one-standard HTA process is a combination of the drug selection process and medical technology selection with the HTA review mechanism which is expected to create a more efficient, effective, accountable and integrated system.

It can also encourage stronger collaboration between the Ministry of Health, academia, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders in improving health innovation and accelerating public access to better and more affordable medicines and medical technologies.

“We expect the selection of health technologies to apply robust, transparent, and relevant technologies or methods. Inputs from all parties are very valuable for all of us to ensure that the decisions taken are based on strong scientific evidence and truly benefit the community,” Rizka said.

Minister of Health Budi G. Sadikin explained that the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a scientific approach to assist the Ministry of Health in making decisions regarding the adoption of technology in the National Health Insurance (JKN) program.

Through HTA, it is hoped that decision-making related to medical technology, both drugs and medical devices, will become more targeted so that the health budget can be used optimally and the community gets better care.

“Not only medicines, but also clinical procedures and medical devices. We have to do it faster, so I ask to change the procedures and adopt from other countries that have successfully implemented it such as Singapore. Incoming medicines, procedures and medical devices must be of the best quality, at affordable prices and relatively fast,” added the Minister of Health.