Planned and ongoing projects (pop) database: development and results.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to present the development, structure and results of a database on planned and ongoing health technology assessment (HTA) projects (POP Database) in Europe.

Methods: The POP Database (POP DB) was set up in an iterative process from a basic Excel sheet to a multifunctional electronic online database. The functionalities, such as the search terminology, the procedures to fill and update the database, the access rules to enter the database, as well as the maintenance roles, were defined in a multistep participatory feedback loop with EUnetHTA Partners.

Pre-coverage assessments of new hospital interventions on Austria: methodology and 3 years of experience.

Objectives: A new decision-making process was set up by the Austrian Ministry of Health to regulate coverage of new proposed Extra Medical Services (EMS; German: Medizinische Einzel-Leistung [MEL]) in 2008. As part of the annual decision-making process an independent academic institution (LBI-HTA) is evaluating relevant evidence on these new technologies and provides HTAs, including evidence-based recommendations for decision makers.

Methods: About ten EMS assessments are performed annually by the LBI-HTA simultaneously between January and March.