Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the development of a health technology assessment program in Turkey

Objectives: The Turkish healthcare system is currently undergoing reform, and efficient use of resources has become a key factor in determining the allocation of resources. The objective of this study was to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in the development of a health technology assessment (HTA) program in Turkey. Methods: A SWOT analysis was performed using a literature review and interviews with key people in the Turkish Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Results: Regarding recent reforms in health care, investments for information network and databank are the strengths, but the traditional "expert-based" decision making, poor availability of data, and poor quality of data could be seen as some of the weaknesses. Another major weakness is lack of general awareness of HTA. Increasing demand for transparency in decision making, demand for evidence, and demand for credibility by decision makers are some of the opportunities, and current healthcare reforms, i.e., restructuring of healthcare and general health insurance, could also be seen as major opportunities. These opportunities unfortunately could be threatened by lack of funding, and resources are challenged by large, recent national investments. Conclusions: There is a good opportunity for Turkey to use the skills in HTA currently being developed through activities in Europe and the Americas to assist in the development of a much more cost-effective and transparent healthcare system in Turkey.