ABSTRACT
ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the recognition of practitioners in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） hospitals on hospital-based health technology assessment （HB-HTA）， assessment needs， challenges， and suggestions， so as to provide references for the future work. MethodThe convenient sampling method was adopted to survey the relevant practitioners in TCM hospitals. The questionnaire included 39 questions in 4 dimensions and was distributed through the online platform Weijuanxing. ResultA total of 244 questionnaires were recovered， and the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS. The results showed that 137 practitioners were very familiar with HB-HTA and there was no significant difference in the recognition of practitioners in different occupations （F=0.251； P=0.778）. The practitioners in Hong Kong， Macao， and Taiwan had lower recognition than those in other regions. In terms of the assessment needs， 127 practitioners believed that it was very necessary to carry out HB-HTA in TCM hospitals in the future. Chinese patent medicines/Chinese herbal medicine decoction pieces （5.91） and TCM appropriate technology （5.57） had higher assessment priority scores. The assessment needs were high for the effectiveness （235 practitioners） and safety （224 practitioners） of health technology. The lack of specialized organization and standardized evaluation process system and the shortage of talents were considered to be the major challenges for the future development in this field. ConclusionThe stakeholders carrying out the health technology assessment in TCM hospitals had certain awareness of HB-HTA. Most practitioners believed that it was necessary to carry out HB-HTA in TCM hospitals in the future， while the work might face challenges such as the lack of organizations and system and the shortage of talents， which requires policy support.
ABSTRACT
To understand the development status and provide the basis for the construction and development of health technology assessment （HTA） institutions/organizations in China， this paper systematically reviewed the status of international HTA institutions/organizations and the HTA institutions/organizations in western developed countries and some Asian countries. This study was based on the results of the second round of global survey on HTA conducted by the World Health Organization （WHO） in 2020/2021. The websites of WHO， International HTA Database （INAHTA）， international HTA institutions/organizations， and the HTA institutions/organizations in different countries were searched. After data extraction and classification， we summarized the status of 9 international HTA institutions/organizations （including Decide： Health Decision Hub， Health Technology Assessment International， HTAsiaLink， International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment， European Network for Health Technology Assessment， Health Technology Assessment Network of the Americas， International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research， Southern African Health Technology Assessment Society， International Information Network on New and Emerging Health Technologies）， 11 HTA institutions/organizations in western developed countries and Asian countries （including Canada， France， Germany， the United Kingdom， Australia， the United States， Japan， Malaysia， South Korea， Singapore， and Thailand）， and 6 HTA organizations/teams in China. The use of HTA varies greatly because of different medical and health systems among different countries， and thus the role of HTA in health decision-making varies among different countries. The international HTA institutions/organizations have greatly strengthened the communication between HTA institutions/organizations and the pharmaceutical industry and facilitated the promotion and practice of evidence-based health decision-making.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety， efficacy， and economy of the four Chinese patent medicines （CPMs）， including Simotang oral liquid， Liuwei Anxiao capsule， Baohe pill， and Jianwei Xiaoshi oral liquid in the treatment of functional dyspepsia （FD） by a rapid health technology assessment （RHTA）， thus providing evidence support for clinical decision making. MethodChina National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）， WanFang Database， VIP Chinese Technology Periodical Database （VIP）， China Biology Medicine disc （CBMdisc）， PubMed， EMBASE， Cochrane Library， and Web of Science were searched by computer from inception to March 2022. After literature screening， data extraction， and quality evaluation， the descriptive analysis of the results combined with visual charts was performed. Nineteen studies were included， involving 18 randomized controlled trials （RCTs） and 1 Meta-analysis. Neither economic studies nor health technology assessment （HTA） reports were retrieved. ResultThe four CPMs were safe and effective in the treatment of FD， but economic research was lacking. Among them， Simotang oral liquid could be used for children with FD and FD caused by qi and food stagnation， liver and spleen disharmony， and liver and spleen stagnation. Liuwei Anxiao capsule could be used for adult patients with FD caused by food stagnation. Baohe pill could be used for the elderly with FD. Jianwei Xiaoshi oral liquid could be used for children with FD caused by spleen and stomach weakness. ConclusionThe four CPMs have their advantages in the treatment of FD. Among them， the clinical universality of Simotang oral liquid is higher. However， the quality of clinical evidence is generally low， and comparative analysis among drug dosage forms is lacking. In the future， it is necessary to improve， apply， and promote RHTA for rapid evidence production while carrying out a more standardized and scientific evidence-based demonstration of the comprehensive clinical efficacy of CPMs.
ABSTRACT
This study systematically and comprehensively sorted out the application status of Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of constipation in the clinic， to provide scientific evidence for future research directions and clinical drug use in this field. Based on the method of scoping review， the Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of constipation were retrieved from three drug lists to obtain the medicines that needed to be evaluated. A comprehensive and systematic search was carried out on the included studies on the treatment of constipation by Chinese patent medicines through eight Chinese and English databases， and the included studies were integrated and analyzed. The results were displayed in combination with charts. Thirty-four Chinese patent medicines and 118 studies were included in this study. According to the efficacies， Chinese patent medicines were divided into 4 categories， namely eliminating accumulation， purging fire， promoting Qi， and moistening bowels， involving 125 Chinese medicines. The overall attention of constipation research is on the rise. Marenwan （granules or soft capsules） gained the highest attention， with 42 studies， followed by Qirong Runchang oral liquid， with 21 studies， and Biantong tablets （capsules）， with 19 studies. There are 10 studies on Congrong Tongbian oral liquid. Seventeen Chinese patent medicines had no corresponding clinical research. There were 8 study design types， and all drugs were mainly randomized controlled trials except Danggui Longhui pill. Among the intervention types， the comparison between Chinese patent medicines and western medicines was the most. The highest outcome indicators were efficacy， safety evaluation， and main symptoms or scores， and there was a lack of a unified core outcome indicator set. There were few studies on adverse reactions and the economy. Only 11.86% of the studies were funded. Clinically， Chinese patent medicines are widely used in the treatment of constipation， and the amount of related research shows an increasing trend. However， some Chinese patent medicines lack corresponding clinical evidence， and the published research has problems such as unrigorous design， ununified criteria for efficacy evaluation， lack of comprehensive evidence studies， and insufficient funds. It is hoped that more investment will be made in this field in the future， and more attention will be paid to drugs with relatively blank research and constipation syndromes with few treatments. Comprehensive evidence studies such as systematic reviews should be carried out actively. And the study design should be standardized to provide reliable evidence for the treatment of constipation with Chinese patent medicines.