European joint assessments and coordination of findings and resources: Working Group 3 report : European Collaboration for Health Technology Assessment: Developing an Assessment Network

The aim of Working Group 3 has been to identify possible joint assessments and to coordinate findings and existing resources within the community to support joint assessments. Healthcare decision makers throughout Europe face similar uncertainties about health care and are in need of reliable information. Closer collaboration and coordination between scientific information and healthcare decision making is imperative. International joint assessments relating to health technology offer one approach since they promote synergy, avoid duplication of effort, and are the most efficient way to produce the rigorous and comprehensive information needed. However, the success of joint assessments depends on several factors that need to be explored to improve the effectiveness and impact of future joint assessment projects.