The overarching objective of the Joint Action (JA) on Health Technology Assessment (HTA), EUnetHTA Joint Action, including work on relative effectiveness assessment (REA) of pharmaceuticals is to put into practice an effective and sustainable HTA collaboration in Europe that brings added value at the European, national and regional level. The JA brings together 34 HTA agencies and institutional producers of HTA and assessments of pharmaceuticals in 24 EU and 1 EEA/EFTA country (as of November 2010). The JA facilitates solutions to overcome barriers to collaboration and facilitates national solutions to deliver context specific reporting of HTA results.

HTA is a tool to improve quality and efficiency of public health and healthcare interventions and policies. Developing and increasing the efficiency and transparency of HTA across Europe addresses issues of strategic importance identified in the 2nd Health Programme. The need for closer collaboration in HTA has been identified by European HTA doers themselves and by the EU, whose member states (MS) have recognized that a sustainable Network for HTA is an urgent need.
This JA is a response to the request by EU Commission and MS in the work plan 2009 of the Health Programme to continue fostering the development of HTA in Europe. The JA brings into life the commitments made by governments by appointing national HTA bodies to participate.

The JA builds upon the methods and tools developed by the EUnetHTA Project. The JA’s strategy to evolve cooperation according to current needs consists of three interrelated streams of activities. 1. Construction of a detailed business model for collaboration addressing the sustainability of the HTA collaboration in Europe 2. Methodological developments to heighten the efficiency and transparency of HTA processes in Europe. 3. Applying those tools in European trans-national collaboration and at the national, regional and/or local levels. Through the constant interaction between the three streams the JA is able to be responsive to the evolving needs of HTA doers and users in health systems across Europe.

Stream 1: a detailed business model for sustainable collaboration will be developed. Stream 2: the HTA Core Model will be expanded to cover screening technologies. An online tool to facilitate the use of the model, policies and processes for producing, publishing and utilizing information produced with the Model. Methodological guidance on REA of pharmaceuticals produced and incorporated into the Core Model. A European HTA information management system (IMS) allowing single point of access to compatible EUnetHTA tools and allowing storage and exchange of information on a)planned and ongoing HTAs on new technologies, b)additional evidence generation processes and c)concluded assessments and their related policy decisions. Stream 3: the Core Model will be applied to produce at least two collaborative HTAs and the methodological guidance on REA will be tested on a set of pharmaceuticals. The IMS will be used to coordinate at least three collaborative HTAs of new/emerging technologies identified as relevant at the European level. Stakeholder involvement policy, collabooration with EMA.