Klin Onkol 2004; 17(Suppl 1): 5-10.
Summary: Saving life and health, respect for autonomy of the patient and good medical practice are the three main requirements to medical doctors. Health technology assessment (HTA) represents the formal methodology to fullfil the good medical practice requirement. In addition, the implementation of HTA can help to cost effectiveness and equity as an accesibility to equal health care. Equal not only by site, but also by the quality. The authors explain the prerequisites and reasons for implementation of HTA principles just in oncology, which offers good conditions for this more demanding level of health care. Since patients, health care providers, insurance companies and managers have different views on parameters of quality, HTA must include all these opinions. Main obstacle for rapid implementation of HTA principles into health care in the Czech Republic is currently the absence on interest and will among heath insurance and health management representatives for quality evaluation in general. Since the demand for HTA implementation can not be expected from the public, the fate of HTA in the Czech Republic remains only in the hands of medical societies and doctors
