The HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting was held in Adelaide, Australia, June 24-28. Over 700 delegates from 42 countries attended the 5-day event, which include two days of pre-conference workshops and three days of the conference presentations.
Thank you
Thank you to all of our Annual Meeting delegates who joined us for five days of fantastic presentations and energetic collaboration. Your participation is what makes the HTAi Annual Meeting a hallmark event in the global HTA community.
Thank you to all of the spectacular Annual Meeting Speakers, whose insight and expertise sparked conversations and ideas throughout the conference. We look forward to seeing the work that results from this year’s Meeting!
A special thank-you goes to all of the 2023 Annual Meeting volunteers and local organizing groups, whose dedication helps make the Annual Meeting such a fantastic event. Between reviewing abstract submissions, bridging connections, and providing on-site assistance, Annual Meeting volunteers put countless hours into supporting the Annual Meeting behind the scenes.
And finally, thank you to all of our Annual Meeting Sponsors. A conference of this magnitude would not be possible without your steadfast support, and HTAi is grateful to have worked with you throughout the past year.
Pre-Conference Events
Workshops
Annual Meeting pre-conference Workshops began on Saturday, June 24, and continued through Sunday, June 25. All conferences were held at the University of Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building, located only steps away from the main conference venue, the Adelaide Conference Centre. Workshop registration for the 2023 Annual Meeting was high, with over 45% of Annual Meeting registrants attending Workshops one or both days!
Early Career Meet and Greet
Prior to the start of the Welcome Reception, emerging HTA professionals were invited to a networking event to get to know the HTAi Board of Directors and other established members. Attendees played meet and greet bingo, and spent time building the connections that become the foundation of Annual Meeting collaborations.
Welcome Reception
The Annual Meeting Welcome Reception took place on Sunday evening at the Adelaide Convention Centre. Jack Buckskin, Founder and Director of Kuma Kaaru, provided a Welcome to Country to welcome guests to Adelaide, the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. Attendees were also treated to a digeridoo performance they won’t soon forget!
The evening continued with introductions to a variety of local wildlife, which included a pademelon, monitor lizard, and crocodile.
A trio from Aurora Strings provided a melodious backdrop to the evening, performing music from their classical and popular repertoire.
Main Conference Events
Opening Ceremony and Keynote Address
The HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting Main Conference events kicked off on Monday, June 26, with an Opening Ceremony that included a Welcome to Country from Jack Buckskin. Included in Jack’s presentation were educational teachings about Kaurna traditions, language, and a small musical performance.
The Opening Ceremony also included a captivating keynote address from Dr. Sam Roberts, Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom. Dr. Roberts’ address included an examination of global collaboration efforts and its importance to the future of HTA.
Plenary One
Plenary One, held on Monday, June 26, focused on fast-tracking clinical innovation while minimizing risks related to its introduction and management. The Plenary examined a hypothetical technology developed to address symptoms and complications related to dementia.
The panel included a variety of perspectives, including patient, industry, policy-makers, research, and agency. These perspectives examined the hypothetical technology throughout its lifecycle, weighing benefits, risk, and outcomes.
International Collaborative Roundtable
On Monday afternoon, invited delegates joined the Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care to discuss the ongoing review of Australia’s HTA policy and methods. The roundtable provided a platform for policymakers from around the world to collaborate and share insights and knowledge on HTA methods, and regulation.
Plenary Two
Plenary Two, held on Tuesday, June 27, examined international collaboration and harmonization of HTA, across global, regional, and local contexts. Panelists discussed harmonization of processes and rules in the Asia Pacific Region; North America and Europe; throughout Europe; and finally, the many regions of Spain. Lively discussion with the audience followed the presentations.
Patient and Consumer Representation
From the Patient Lounge, to a consumer consultative session called Changing Conversations, to high involvement from Patient PASS recipients— the 2023 Annual Meeting featured strong patient and consumer representation. Additionally, two of the three plenary sessions and numerous panel sessions, and several workshops featured patient perspectives.
Podcast
A very exciting initiative launched at the 2023 Annual Meeting: the HTAi podcast!
Featuring a variety of voices from all over the world, and throughout every area of interest, the HTAi podcast will explore the leading topics in HTA. Keep on the lookout for information on episode release dates, which will begin later this season!
Conference Dinner
Wow, what a great night! Delegates enjoyed a great dinner overlooking the Adelaide Oval, home to the South Australian Cricket Association as well as South Australian National Football League.
Following dinner and a presentation by Radio National host Norman Swan, the guests showed off their best moves on the dance floor!
Annual General Meeting of Members – 2023
Members gathered in the Plenary Room on the morning of Wednesday, June 28 to attend the HTAi Annual General Meeting of Members (AGM), which was chaired by 2022-2023 Board President Dr. Wija Oortwijn. During the meeting, the 2023-2024 Board was announced, outgoing members featured and thanked, and a special presentation was made to Past President Dr. Iñaki Gutierrez-Ibarluzea.
With our deepest gratitude, HTAi thanks the outgoing HTAi Board members for their commitment to the Society and their leadership while serving on the Board. We would like to give a special thank-you to Dr. Iñaki Gutierrez-Ibarluzea for his contributions and commitment over the past nine years, first as a Board Director, then later as Vice President, President, and Past President!
The 2023-2024 Board includes a new President, Vice President, and Past President, as well as two new Directors and one re-elected Director.
Please join us in welcoming the 2023-2024 HTAi Board of Directors!
An AI Fishbowl
Following the HTAi AGM, delegates were invited to join a featured session entitled “Is HTA Ready for GTP/AI Large Language Models? A Participative ‘Fishbowl’ Session”. The session was well-attended, with participants identifying and defining AI applications and discussing the potential impacts in HTA.
An outcomes on the session will become available in the coming weeks.
Plenary Three
Plenary Three, held on June 28, explored discussions started at the 2022 Annual Meeting in Utrecht. Panelists considered ways to create better alignment between regulation, reimbursement, clinical guidelines, health service delivery and re-assessment of health technologies. The discussion was moderated by local talent Norman Swan, host of Radio National’s Health Report.
Closing Ceremony
As the HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting came to a close, delegates gathered to celebrate the event’s success and honour the work of HTAi’s outgoing President, Dr. Wija Oortwijn; and welcome HTAi’s new President, Dr. Rabia Sucu.
Dr. Rabia Sucu’s moving speech about the beginning of her journey and career in HTA earned a standing ovation from the audience.
Following her speech, Rabia and the 2023 ISPC presented this year’s award recipients, which included the following:
- Egon Jonsson Award
- Krubiner CB, et al. Developing and piloting a context-specified ethics framework for health technology assessment: the South African Values and Ethics for Universal Health Coverage approach.
- Best Reviewer Award, IJTAHC Editorial Board
- Professor Tracey Sach, United Kingdom
- Special Mention:
- Dr. Clifford Goodman, United States
- Dr. Karen Facey, United Kingdom
- Ken Bond, Canada
- Special Mention:
- Professor Tracey Sach, United Kingdom
- Jill Sanders Memorial Scholarship (2022):
- Yanga Nokhepheyi, South Africa
- Nebyu Demeke Mengestie, Ethiopia
- Dr. Richmond Owusu, Ghana
- Educational Scholarship (2022):
- Abeer Al Rabaya, Jordan
- Siti Mariam Mohtar, Malaysia
- Blessing Dzingirai, Zimbabwe
- Sigrid Droste Ethics Award
- Professor Bjørn Morten Hofmann, Norway
- Best Presentation Awards, 2023
- Oral Presentation, Student Category
- Mrs. Clareece Nevill | Abstract 105 | MetaImpact: A Novel Tool to Enable Evidence Based Sample Sizes for Future Studies
- Poster Presentation, Student Category
- Mrs. Carla Fernandez-Barcelo | Abstract 164 | Innovating to Decrease Mortality and Resource Use in Surgical Inpatient: ZERO project
- Best Poster, Non-Student Category
- Ms. Ping-Tee Tan | Abstract 116 | Patient Involvement in Drug Evaluations to Inform Funding Decisions: A Singapore Case Study
- Best Oral, Non-Student Category
- Dr. Deborah A Marshall | Abstract 457 | Patient Values Project (PVP): Patient Preferences for Cancer Treatments to Inform a Framework Incorporating Patient Values into HTA
Annual Meeting 2024
Following Award presentations, Dr. Laura Sampietro-Colom, Dr. Iñaki Gutierrez-Ibarluzea, and Dr. Juan Antonio Blasco took the stage to announce the 2024 HTAi Annual Meeting location: Seville, Spain, with local host AETSA.
Mark your calendars for the next Annual Meeting, taking place June 15-19, 2024 in the beautiful city of Seville!
HTAi Annual Meetings bring together the most senior experts and leading thinkers in HTA for three days of world class presentations and unparalleled networking.
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