With the presence of more than 300 participants from across the region, the Department of Health and Health Economic Technology Assessment of the IECS convened and coordinated a webinar to present and discuss some results of the recently published value frameworks for diagnostic technologies project. in the Value in Health magazine and whose details are described in www.iecs.org.ar/marcodevalor
Value frameworks are different criteria or explicit values that must be taken into account when assigning integral value to a technology, explained the Dr. Federico Augustovski, director of the Department. “They help a more transparent and explicit evaluation of a technology for a health system and thus decide to incorporate and cover them in a package or basket of benefits in an informed manner,” he said.
Dr. Augustovski briefly presented some results of the proposal that, after a review of the literature, survey and deliberative day with users and producers of these technologies in a dozen countries, identified and ranked 15 variables, aspects, dimensions or attributes that should be considered when evaluating diagnostic tests in the context of Latin America. 
At the meeting, the various panelists praised the initiative.
Dr. Manuel Espinosa, head of the Health Technology Assessment Unit of the Clinical Research Center of the Faculty of Medicine of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, expressed his opinion regarding the problem of the quality of evidence that the question that must be asked is: is it worth carrying out studies to resolve this uncertainty? And he proposed that the economic consideration should come after the characterization of value. “But the work is reference material that has value for improving decision-making,” he said.
Carlos Eduardo Gouvêa, president of the Latin American Alliance for the Development of In Vitro Diagnostics (ALADDiV), observed that Most of our health systems are focused on medications. “But, to guarantee access to health, we have to go through the diagnosis, which is the basis of 70-80% of medical decisions. There are various pieces of equipment that range from screening to personalized study. We must have the different actors trained to discuss the aspects presented in this project,” he expressed.
Eva María Ruiz de Castilla agreed, founder and director of Latin American Patients Academy (LAPA). “A good diagnosis can also produce savings; it must be approached from a holistic perspective. The system does not talk with other sectors, for example, technologists with doctors, and that happens a lot with diagnostic technologies. Good education is essential,” he said.
Dr. Marisa Santos, member of the Euroqol International group and the National Institute of Cardiology of Brazil, highlighted that, in In general, only the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic methods are considered and noted that the value framework also proposes taking into account the patients' perspective.
Meanwhile, Dr. Santiago Torales, general supervisor of the National Commission for the Evaluation of Health Technologies (CONETEC) of the Ministry of Health of Argentina, considered that the proposal of value frameworks is a very meritorious effort and that it responds to a need in Argentina and other countries.
“We would have loved to have this tool available sooner to evaluate other diagnostic tests. We hope to have tools like this to adopt better criteria starting next semester,” she confided.
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Those who want to see a video about value frames can enter here.