This blog has been jointly written by Dr. Phetsavanh Chanthavilay from the Institute of Research and Education Development, University of Health Sciences, Lao PDR, and Mr. Nantasit Luangasanatip from the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Thailand. Their participation in this e

Countries across Asia are increasingly turning to health technology assessment (HTA) to ensure healthcare decisions are guided by appropriate evidence. However, many still face challenges in institutionalizing HTA, including building technical expertise, applying economic evaluation in decision-maki

Vietnam is one of the countries that are on the journey to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). With the Health Insurance Law enacted in 2008, and master plan for UHC approved by the prime minister in 2012, health insurance coverage has been continuously developed both in terms of population and

The Health Technology Assessment (HTA), which is a crucial tool for setting health intervention priorities, has been rapidly developing in Asia-Pacific, but is still not fully employed by many countries in policy decision making. Although HTA institutions and networks have been operating successfully in OECD countries and a few of the middle-income

Background Economic evaluation has been implemented to inform policy in many areas, including coverage decisions, technology pricing, and the development of clinical practice guidelines. However, there are barriers to evidence-based policy in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that include li

In Thailand, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is 17.5% of the population (Ingsathit et al., 2010). According to Thailand’s National Health Security Office (2021), in each year, this public health agency spends approximately 10,000 million Baht in renal dialysis and 1,000 million Baht for the CKD treatment and other related expenses.

In Thailand, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is 17.5% of the population (Ingsathit et al., 2010). According to Thailand’s National Health Security Office (2021), in each year, this public health agency spends approximately 10,000 million Baht in renal dialysis and 1,000 million Baht f

“Health donors, policymakers, and practitioners continuously make life-and-death decisions about which type of patients receive what interventions, when, and at what cost. These decisions—as consequential as they are— often result from ad hoc, nontransparent processes driven more by inertia

iDSI aims to help policymakers in low and middle income countries in building capacity for active priority-setting, such that they can spend limited health budgets in a more efficient and equitable way, and achieve sustainable universal health coverage (UHC). In order to help achieve iDSI this aim,

Epidemiological modelling is an important tool to help public health planners understand potential disease outcomes in the population. The recent visibility of models and their perceived influence in the decision-making processes surrounding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a great d