Participation

Why is participation necessary?

The involvement of clinical experts and patients is essential for a truly complex assessment of technologies. Experts who work or will work with the technology often bring a new perspective and a lot of practical information about the treatment of a specific diagnosis or about the real problems in the field. The patient's perspective is indispensable because patients and their well-being are the goal of all the efforts in health care. Patients often evaluate what is important to them differently; what symptoms really bother them, or vice versa.

Partners NIHO and ŠÚKL

Based on the agreement with the State Institute for Drug Control (Štátny ústav pre kontrolu liečiv - ŠÚKL), we offer the opportunity for patient organizations to become partners with NIHO and ŠÚKL. NIHO's goal is to honor patients for their inputs into assessments, and therefore, it is necessary to establish conditions under which a patient organization can be included in the list. If a patient organization is a partner with NIHO and ŠÚKL, NIHO can now honor them for relevant inputs into assessments. To be included in the list of patient organizations collaborating with NIHO and ŠÚKL, it is necessary to fill out the Application for Inclusion, which is published below along with the list of NIHO and ŠÚKL partners. The patient organization must meet the following conditions:

a) It is a non-profit organization focused on patients and their close ones, protecting their rights, advocating for their needs and interests, and with patients or their close ones represented in governing bodies, or their legal representatives in case patients are unable to represent themselves.

b) Its members are:
i. Individuals with certain illnesses or health issues, as well as their close ones or their representatives according to civil law, or,
ii. Associations/societies whose members are associations/societies that meet criteria a) and b) i.

c) performs its main activity for at least 12 months.

Conflict of interest

In the assessment process impartiality and the absence of conflict of interest are very important. What exactly is considered a conflict of interest is defined by the EUnetHTA methodology. It is a situation when an individual or an organization performs activities for which it receives financial or non-financial remuneration from the manufacturer/marketing authorization holder of the assessed medical technology.

In order for a specific expert or patient input to be included in the assessment, the author of the input in question must submit a statement describing his or her potential conflicts of interest.

How to participate in technology assessments

In the first phase of the assessment, NIHO will produce a Technology Assessment Notice in the "Projects in Progress" section. The notice summarizes the subject of the evaluation - the evaluated technology, its indications and the patient population (diagnosis) for which it is intended.

For technologies with the greatest impact on the budget, NIHO will also draw up a project protocol in which the subject of the assessment is described in more detail and possibly other relevant aspects.

The professional public and patients can send their suggestions within 14 calendar days from the announcement of the assessment.

Please send the participation questionaire together with the declaration of conflict of interests by the date specified in the specific assessment in the " Projects in progress " section to kancelaria@niho.sk.