Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) are interventions for very rare conditions, for which NICE in UK took over responsibility for assessment in 2013. The technologies are assessed by a separate specialist HST committee, using a wider framework than for single technology assessments (STAs). This framework recognises the difficulty in undertaking clinical trials for these therapies and the resulting uncertainty in estimates of cost-effectiveness, as well as the potential impact of the technologies beyond direct health benefits, the implications for service delivery and the difficulties for manufacturers in recouping ‘sunk’ R&D costs. A more generous cost-effectiveness threshold of £100,000 per QALY gained (rising to £300,000 in some circumstances) is applied. Outcomes-based managed access agreements [link] are often feasible, given the ability to follow up the (small) populations of treated patients. Of great interest are the criteria for determining entry to HST, which include size of the target patient group, the nature of the condition, the need for a specialised service supported by national commissioning and cost of the technology itself.
How to cite: Highly Specialised Technologies (UK NICE) [online]. (2016). York; York Health Economics Consortium; 2016. https://yhec.co.uk/glossary/highly-specialised-technologies-uk-nice/