Taiwan renews healthcare innovation partnership with U.K. agency

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) renewed their partnership agreement virtually on Monday with the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

NHIA Director-General Chen Lian-Yu (陳亮妤) signed the latest agreement for collaboration from 2026 to 2028 in Taipei, witnessed by Health and Welfare Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), while NICE Advice Director Brad Groves signed it in the U.K.

Chen said the collaboration with NICE, one of the world's leading health technology assessment (HTA) organizations, would further strengthen the integration of HTA, reimbursement systems, and healthcare digitalization in Taiwan.

HTA is a process used to evaluate the properties and effects of new medical technologies, helping policymakers determine insurance coverage and patient costs.

The partnership agreement was first signed in 2023. Under the updated deal, the two sides will focus on innovative healthcare assessment frameworks, digital transformation, and HTA talent development, according to an NHIA press release issued Wednesday.

In terms of the assessment frameworks, the NHIA said the partnership will strengthen HTA and reimbursement systems for high-cost emerging technologies, such as gene and cell therapies.

Next, on digital transformation, the two sides will share experiences in digital governance for cancer care, the agency said.

That includes discussing the promotion of fast healthcare interoperability resources, an international standard for healthcare data exchanges.

Such discussions could advance digital transformation in healthcare data, streamline prior authorization processes, and establish real-world evaluation systems for cancer treatment outcomes.

In the third area of cooperation, the partnership will cultivate more HTA talent through training programs, expert exchanges, and information-sharing networks, according to the NHIA.

The partnership will also work on improving policy making by incorporating healthcare, long-term care, and social care needs into the policy evaluation process and integrating related resources, the NHIA said.

The alliance has already produced benefits for Taiwan, the NHIA said.

Inspired by the U.K.'s Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), it has introduced a provisional payment system aimed at expanding patient access to new therapies while maintaining the sustainability of the national health insurance system, according to the NHIA.