TO CONITEC launches, sixth-fair (08/26), publication “Understanding the Incorporation of Health Technologies – how to get involved”, it is available for download in the electronic – conitec.gov.br (download here). This document was inspired by the “Understanding Health Technology Assessment (HTA)”, produced by Health Equality Europe (HEE).
Adapted to the Brazilian reality and prepared in a simple and direct language, the publication seeks to enable a better understanding of the population about the process of incorporation of technologies in health in the Single Health System (SUS), in addition to stimulating the participation of society in the process of endorsement of health technologies (ATS) that precedes the incorporation, exclusion or alteration of medicines, products and procedures.
In Brazil, community participation is one of the directives of ITS present in the Federal Constitution of 1988. It is also one of two principles described in Laws 8.080/1990 and 8.142/1990, which provides for community participation in health. In 2011, Lei 12,401, which created CONITEC, also made civil society participation official.
The involvement of the population in the decision-making processes provides an opportunity to better understand the health professionals and managers about the needs and preferences of patients. This sense, or guide, will be of great importance so that the population expresses its needs in an organized manner and that they can be used in the ATS processes.