New model for prioritized adoption of hospital medicine in Denmark since 2017

Technological innovation creates new treatment opportunities, while also putting healthcare budgets under strain. To deal with the rising costs of hospital medicines, the regional governments in Denmark have developed a new health technology assessment model. Marking a shift from previous policies, the new model formalises the evaluation of clinical benefit, adds an assessment of treatment costs and ensures a relatively high degree of direct stakeholder involvement. The new model is organised in line with many of the procedural principles advocated in the literature to ensure procedural justice and fair decision-making processes. However, these procedural innovations have also created new challenges. Notably, the newly formed assessment body, the Danish Medicines Council, is faced with a very high caseload and limited options to prioritise the use of its analytical resources.