Health Economics Evidence in Clinical Practice Guidelines

Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) can be a useful tool to aid healthcare decision making, but in order to be relevant and used in practice the CPG content should support users to make transparent, informed healthcare decisions when allocating and consuming finite resources. Health economic evidence can be incorporated in CPG development using a variety of methodological approaches. The best approach might vary depending on the intervention type, data availability, and technical skill, but should ideally enable the user/decision-maker to make a more informed decision on whether a particular intervention represents the best use of available health resources in their local context.

The main aim of this project is to advance the usability of CPGs in decision-making through relevant incorporation of health economic evidence, in addition to other factors.  We hope to achieve this aim in collaboration with the South African CPG community (funders, developers and users) by eliciting views and encouraging debate on the current challenges in using health economic evidence in CPGs, its ideal future role (if different), and possible solutions that can help bridge the gap.

The project will be a joint initiative between PRICELESS SA, Cochrane SA and the CEBHC. Strategic input on the project approach and deliverables will be gained from strategic partners (including the National DoH, Council for Medical Schemes, and the South African Medical Association) throughout the project.

Stakeholders from the CPG community (100+ people) will be engaged via the online survey, as well as the capacity building workshops. Stakeholders will include medical professionals, academics, and national and provincial health decision makers.

The findings from the online survey and the workshop will then be shared with the wider CPG community and interested parties through a project report (and possible journal publication) summarising the current use (and barriers to use) of health economic evidence in CPGs, and the next steps required to advance the usability of CPGs in decision-making through relevant incorporation of health economic evidence.