This module includes an overview of the healthcare industry, focusing on the U.S., and provides context for why medical technology evaluations are important sources of information within the industry. The module begins by discussing the aspects of health care industry that make it unique from other industries and the many stakeholders who have interests in the results of medical technology evaluations. The remainder of the module covers the various regulation and payment systems that exist within the industry and where and how medical technology evaluations are necessary elements of those systems.

This module discusses the two most common types of data used in medical technology evaluations: clinical trial data and health insurance claims data. The discussion of clinical trial data covers the basic elements of trial design that help ensure the results will be reliable inputs to technology evaluations. The discussion of claims data covers what types of information is available in claims and how it differs from clinical data. It also covers potential sources of data. The module concludes with a few lessons that discuss general considerations and precautions when using data to ensure the validity of a technology evaluation.

In this module we will discuss a variety of types of medical technology evaluation approaches and the types of assessments. We will go into detail about the pros and cons of each type of assessment as a way to illustrate situations where one approach may be better than another. Finally, we will also cover the details of the two fundamental features of any evaluation: measuring costs and benefits.