hta

HTA typically stands for Health Technology Assessment, a multidisciplinary process that informs health policy and clinical decision-making by evaluating the properties and impacts of health technologies such as drugs, devices, and diagnostic tests. The scope includes clinical effectiveness and safety, cost-effectiveness, and social, ethical, and organizational implications. Methods include systematic literature reviews, economic evaluations, and explicit appraisal of uncertainties; outputs commonly take the form of HTA reports, recommendations, and guidance for payers and providers.

HTA programs are run by national or regional bodies (for example NICE in the United Kingdom, CADTH in Canada, HAS in France, and other agencies in Europe and Asia). The process can influence reimbursement, coverage decisions, clinical guidelines, and procurement. The field emphasizes transparency and stakeholder engagement but faces challenges such as transferability of results between settings, data gaps, and time and resource requirements.

In computing, HTA also stands for HTML Application, a Microsoft technology that allows HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to run as a standalone Windows application with the .hta extension. HTAs run in the mshta.exe host and have elevated privileges, raising security concerns; their use has declined in favor of more modern app development approaches, though they remain part of legacy workflows.