Summary

In recent years the criteria for substantiating the widespread practical use of certain medical technologies and their funding from public funds have become increasingly stringent. Nowadays Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is politically recognized and structured in almost all economically developed and many developing countries. International cooperation in the field of HTA allows us to avoid duplication, make mutually beneficial exchanges of developed techniques, medical technologies and such, that will make high-cost treatments more accessible. In most of the leading countries, there is an active process of creating HTA national agencies and institutions. In some countries, for example, in Poland, these agencies are a state structure and part of the Ministry of Health. Elsewhere, for example in the UK, they are considered independent organizations, although they are funded from the state budget. There are also HTA structures that are co-financed or funded from private sources. In some countries (e.g Germany, Sweden) there are several agencies and structures dealing with HTA issues at the same time. Despite different approaches, their common goal is to prepare reliable clinical economic data and provide this information to decision makers.