Organization of the meeting

The VIII Meeting of the Health Technology Assessment Network of the Americas (RedETSA) took place on October 5, 6, and 7, 2016 in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. An estimated 200 participants attended the meeting, which was held in conjunction with the First National HTA Forum of El Salvador and the Fourth Regional Meeting of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi). The meeting served to develop and discuss multiple topics on health technology assessment (HTA) and to discuss the progress of the countries. The meeting was divided into three different sections: an introductory session, the RedETSA meeting in conjunction with the National HTA Forum of El Salvador and the Regional Meeting of HTAi, and a closed meeting for RedETSA member countries.  

Central axis and topics discussed

The first day and a half saw the open scientific sessions. The following sessions were held: Health technology assessment: key concepts, The importance of HTA for universal coverage, Mapping of capacities and decision-making processes: the situation of HTA in the Americas, Diagnosis of the situation of HTA in El Salvador, Economic evaluation and its importance for decision-making, Recent advances in the institutionalization of HTA in the Americas, Rapid HTA report, experiences with HTA and high-cost medications.

Closed meeting of RedETSA members

PAHO, in its role as the Network Secretariat, presented the update and changes made to the RedETSA website and the Webinar program, which began in 2015 and aims to have monthly events with topics proposed by the Network. Participants proposed topics for future Webinars such as monitoring the technological horizon or calculating budgetary impact. PAHO spoke about the technical exchange program that gave RedETSA members the opportunity to visit another agency. Finally, the work plan and priorities for 2017 were discussed.