A systematic model for evaluating the patient aspects of health technologies

Health technology assessment (HTA) is generally defined as a multidisciplinary research field that aims to produce objective knowledge for decision makers on the benefits, costs and harms of a technology.This paper describes an attempt to develop a systematic relational model for the evaluation of the patient aspects of health technologies, and in particular employs actor-network theory (ANT), with its emphasis on a non-linear innovation process, translations, co-production of technology and context and socio-material networks. It first considers the ontological and other presumptions of mainstream HTA and suggests an alternative relational ontology and approach. It then analyses the patient aspects of health technology by defining its scope and other issues that may provide a general framework for studying and evaluating the patient aspects of health technology. It then briefly discusses the implications of the relational approach in regard to the empirical practice of the whole HTA.