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. 2015;31(3):154–165. doi: 10.1017/S0266462315000185

Table 1.

Summary of Organizational Characteristics of Non-EU Agencies

All agencies MD specific Non-MD specific
(N = 36)a agencies (N = 27)a Agencies (N = 9)a
Characteristics N Median (range) N Median (range) N Median (range)
Annual funding (million USD) 20 2.1 (0.01–24.2) 15 2.3 (0.01—24.20) 5 1.0 (0.4–21.0)
Number of staff 31 25 (3–150) 24 19 (3–150) 7 30 (19- 66)
N (%) N (%) N (%)
Type of organization
   National/Central/Federal Government 16 (44) 13 (48) 3 (33)
   Local/Provincial/State Government 2 (6) 2 (7) 0 (0)
   Academia/university 4 (11) 3 (11) 1 (11)
   Compulsory health care insurance (public) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0)
   Private medical insurance 1 (3) 1 (4) 0 (0)
   Hospital 1 (3) 1 (4) 0 (0)
   Professional association 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0)
   Other not-for-profit 7 (19) 4 (15) 3 (33)
   Other 5 (14) 3 (11) 2 (22)
Source of funding
   National/Local Governmentb 31 (86) 22 (81) 9 (100)
   Private institutionsb 8 (22) 6 (22) 2 (22)
   Donor agencies (foundations, research funding bodies, international agencies)b 7 (19) 3 (11) 4 (44)
   Otherb 9 (25) 7 (26) 2 (22)
Professional background of staff
   Clinical specialist/physician 31 [of 32] (97) 24 [of 25] (96) 7 [of 7] (100)
   Economist 26 [of 32] (81) 20 [of 25] (80) 6 [of 7] (86)
   Epidemiologist/statistician 26 [of 32] (81) 20 [of 25] (80) 6 [of 7] (86)
   Information specialist 19 [of 32] (59) 15 [of 25] (60) 4 [of 7] (57)
   Other 27 [of 32] (84) 22 [of 25] (88) 5 [of 7] (71)
Responsible for/contributes to decision-making 15 (42) 12 (44) 3 (33)
Technologies assessed/appraised
   Drugs (pharmaceuticals, biologicals, vaccines) 25 (69) 17 (63) 8 (89)
   Medical devices 36 (100) 27 (100) 9 (100)
      Diagnostics 31 [of 33] (94) 23 [of 25] (92) 8 [of 8] (100)
      Medical or surgical procedures 31 [of 33] (94) 23 [of 25] (92) 8 [of 8] (100)
   Other technologies 27 [of 35] (77) 20 (74) 6 [of 8] (78)
      Organisational or administrative systems 18 (51) 17 (63) 1 (13)
      Public health interventions 18 [of 35] (51) 12 (44) 6 [of 8] (75)
Use of medical device classification system 18 (50) 15 (56) 3 (33)
N Median (range) N Median (range) N Median (range)
Average duration of assessment work (months)
   Rapid review/response documents 14 1.0 (0.2–6.0) 11    (0.2–6.0) 3 1.2 (1.0–1.5)
   Brief technical documents 7 2.2 (1.5–8.0) 5    (1.5–8.0) 2 2.9 (2.2–3.5)
   Complete HTA or economic evaluation 18 9.0 (1.0–18.0) 14 10.5 (1.0–18.0) 4 8.2 (4.5–10.5)
Proportion of HTA reports assessing MDs 19 25% (5%–100%) 14 51% (5%–100%) 5 10% (5%–20%)
a

All proportions based on the N = 36 (all agencies), N = 27 (MD specific agencies), N = 9 (Non MD specific agencies) unless otherwise indicated.

b

A positive response could be given to more than one item.