European collaboration on relative effectiveness assessments: What is needed to be successful?

Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the possible barriers and critical success factors for the implementation of European collaboration in the field of relative effectiveness assessment (REA) of drugs.

Methods: Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with representatives from eight European health technology assessment (HTA) organisations involved in assessment of drugs for coverage decision-making (AAZ, AIFA, AHTAPol, HAS, HVB, IQWIG, NICE and ZiN).

Results: Potential barriers identified mainly relate to methodology, resources and challenges with implementation in the respective national processes (e.