The Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment (CAHTA) (Agència d'Avaluació de Tecnologia i Recerca Mèdiques de Catalunya - AATRM) is a public non-profit company reporti ng to the Catalan Health Service.

The CAHTA was created in 1994 (Agreement by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia. Official Gazette of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia issue 1016, July 4, 19944.), after 10 years of previous experience in the assessment of medical technologies in Catalonia.

Starting in 1998, the CAHTA is also a Collaborating Centre of the World Health Organisation for the assessment of medical technologies since 1998.

The mission

The CAHTA provides information based on scientific evidence and the analysis of the health scenario, its endpoint being to ensure that the introduction, adoption and utilisation of medical technologies is carried out according to criteria of efficacy, safety, effectiveness and efficiency which have been scientifically demonstrated, as well as offering support to decision-making at different levels of the health system.

Moreover, its core functions include planning, coordination and assessment of health research in the field of health centres, services and establishments linked to the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) with a view to promoting research geared towards the health needs of the population and of knowledge of the health system.

Outlook

The CAHTA aims to maintain its position as a key and relevant organisation offering support to the Catalan health system by producing and using rigorous scientific knowledge to improve disease prevention, health and the quality of life of the people of Catalonia.

The values

Not only does the CAHTA employ the rigour and quality inherent in the methodology with which all its works is addressed, but also brings to bear other values such as organisational independence, teamwork, the desire to serve system and citizens alike, in cooperation with the Catalan scientific society.

Why is CAHTA's work useful

In an increasingly more complex health environment, with phenomena such as globalisation, technical and scientific innovation and competitiveness, decisions must be taken as objectively as possible based on the availability of optimal information.

A surplus of often scattered and even contradictory information, or the lack of it, renders it difficult for politicians, administrators, health professionals and patients to take decisions.

The CAHTA works to generate scientific evidence-based information adapted to our health context, expressed in clear and understandable fashion that is oriented to the needs of the different decision-makers.

Thus, the CAHTA promotes the lines of activity described in the table below:

Who is the target of CAHTA's work

The information generated by the CAHTA targets a very broad and heterogeneous universe of people or organisations who at a given moment need to assess the pros and cons of a health intervention, be they politicians, administrators or managers, professionals or patients.

On the other hand, by virtue of its Statutes, the CAHTA can offer its products and services to the public and private sector. The relationship between the CAHTA and the health care industry and/or other technology sponsors has taken place under the principles of independence, scientific and methodological rigour that govern all CAHTA's activities, and for this reason, a good scientific practice code has been devised.

The main clients of the CAHTA include the Catalan public health Administration, the health administration of other autonomous communities, hospitals and other health care centres, academic and/or research institutions, professional colleges or associations and scientific societies, free insurance companies, the health industry and pharmaceutical laboratories, to name but some.