NIHO is an independent HTA institution that issues assessments and analyses according to a well-established European methodology (EUnetHTA) in line with the principles of evidence-based medicine. NIHO is a public institution with statutory funding and obligations which make it independent of politics and influences of the medical technology industry.

The main task of NIHO is to bring scientific approach and transparency to the decision-making processes in the health sector. NIHO studies vast amounts of information available on the subject and processes it in a form that is comprehensible to the decision-makers or authorities. NIHO does not issue decisions, this competence remains with the responsible authority, for the most part with the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.