Visit of Representatives of RedETSA Member Institutions to the Institute for Health Technology Assessment (IETS) in Bogotá, Colombia

IETS
The Institute for Health Technology Assessment is the only private, mixed-participation institution in Spanish-speaking America whose mission is to promote the strengthening of research in health technology assessment and contribute to the development of better healthcare practices.

REDETSA EXCHANGE
The technical exchange of representatives of RedETSA member institutions at the IETS was successfully held on August 16, 17 and 18, 2016. The visit took place at the IETS headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia. Fifteen professionals from eight countries in the region participated in the visit, which was divided into master sessions and workshops related to specific topics.
The professional exchange helped to strengthen the Network's capabilities, as well as promote the exchange of information, training and successful experiences in technology and derivative assessments. Specifically, the objectives were to learn about IETS's experience in the health technology assessment process and its role in decision-making, to learn about IETS's experience in the development of clinical practice guidelines and to carry out other activities that allow the exchange of knowledge with other representatives of the attending institutions.
The professionals who participated in the meeting are detailed in the following table:

COMMENTS
The participating professionals expressed their satisfaction with the development of the activity; it was highly successful and beneficial both for them and for the institutions of which they are members, as demonstrated by the following comments:
“The exchange […] provided a rich exchange of experiences between the participating countries, allowing the sharing of successful experiences and the difficulties faced in the process of validation of health technologies and the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines, promoting the strengthening of ties and strengthening work capacity in networks in the Americas.”
– Jorgeny Souza Emerick Ebeidalla
“[…]this technical exchange visit was very beneficial, where the entire IETS team was willing to share their vast knowledge and experience with us and provided us with very detailed and precise information about their work. Without a doubt, this type of activity represents a great contribution to progress, especially for emerging countries in the field of ETS such as Costa Rica.”
– Ana Eduviges Sancho
“Knowing about Colombia’s successful experience with Health Technology Assessments (HTA), Evidence-Based Medicine, and the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines has been of great importance to us as El Salvador, because we are in the process of consolidating the Health Reform and it is of great relevance to carry out technology assessments that allow us to respond to the demands of new technologies, through systematic and rapid searches of literature and scientific evidence, which allow us to reduce unjustified variability in clinical practice, as well as improve decision-making in Health, to reach a level where we can define needs with Evidence-Based Medicine.”
– Dr. Igor Castro Ramirios
“I found the professional exchange experience to be excellent. The IETS showed us how the Institute was formed and how, through its work, it has become a very relevant actor for both society and the Colombian health authorities. It was also very useful to learn about the difficulties they had when building their products and when carrying out their health technology assessment processes. In this way, it is possible to prevent or at least be prepared for when, in our countries, we think about generating something similar. In addition, the hosts were very welcoming and clarified all our doubts.”
– Victoria Hurtado
AGENDA