31? Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
K. Facey et al. (eds.), Chaptear e3Rf3tltearpercthfairotnieRfRsTrm,,t,,ltea,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4068-9_3
Chapter 3
Reflections on Terms, Goals and Organisation
Helle Ploug Hansen and Jackie Street
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, we address three challenges relating to patient involvement in
HTA. Firstly, we reflect on some of the terms often used by HTA researchers, patient
organisations and HTA bodies to describe the patients who participate in HTAs
including terms such as ‘patient’, ‘patient advocate’, ‘patient representative’, ‘patient
partner’ and ‘consumer’. This challenge has previously been described in relation to
healthcare in general. Dent and Pahor write: ‘The whole arena of patient involve-
ment within healthcare is riven with problems of meaning, definition and purpose’
(Dent and Pahor 2015, p. 549). In addition, they argue that the topic is further com-
plicated when one attempts to compare practices across countries (Dent and Pahor
2015). Secondly, we discuss how the choice of term and hence the choice of partici-
pants may influence the realisation of goals with patient involvement in HTA. We
argue that a challenge lies in confusion about the goals for implementing patient
involvement in HTA, particularly when these goals compete with a variety of other
goals such as cost containment or decision-making based on strictly defined clinical
effectiveness. Thirdly, we address the challenge relating to leadership and organisa-
tional change, because some of the goals for patient involvement in HTA will require
new ways of organizing and leading HTAs. We briefly introduce three models for
organising patient involvement in HTA. The aim of the chapter is to contribute to the
current debate on the use of terms to describe patient involvement and the nature of
the associated goals and organisation supporting this involvement.
H.P. Hansen (*)
Department of Public Health, Research Unit of General Practice,
J.B. Winsløwsvej 9a, 5000, Odense, Denmark
e-mail:
[email protected]
J. Street
School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005 SA, Australia