Health Technology Assessment System in Sweden

Sweden is one of the first countries who establish health technology assessment (HTA) agency. Nowadays, there are two HTA organizations in the country. The first is one of the oldest in the world – the Swedish agency for health technology assessment and assessment of social services (SBU), and the second is the Council The Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV). Having similar tasks, organizations are created for different purposes. TLV assesses medical technologies within state reimbursement system, its purpose is to ensure the efficient use of budget funds. The SBU does not participate in the reimbursement system and does not have any regulatory functions, its purpose is to respond to public inquiries regarding the use of any medical technology. Agencies differ in the number of annually published reports, their types and objects of evaluation. Wherein the work of both institutions is characterized by a wide involvement of independent experts, outside organizations and particular attention to the economic component of the assessment.