Enhancing Health Technology Assessment Transparency through Digital Innovation

Portugal’s national medicines agency is using digital innovation to bring greater openness to health technology assessment. INFARMED, I.P. has released a new public platform called “Tracker de Processos” that allows anyone to follow, in real time, the progress of funding and reimbursement applications for medicines within the National Health Service (SNS). The beta-version tool is updated daily and displays the status of every health technology assessment from submission to the regulator’s proposed decision.

Real-Time Visibility for All Stakeholders

The Tracker de Processos addresses long-standing information gaps by pulling live data from the Sistema de Informação para a Avaliação das Tecnologias de Saúde (SIATS). Users can track individual applications through clinical evaluation, economic evaluation, negotiation, and final proposal stages. Covering all medicine funding requests submitted or concluded after 1 January 2026, the platform excludes medical devices but offers both ongoing and completed processes. By providing daily updates and inviting feedback from patients, clinicians, industry, and the public, INFARMED is fostering accountability and predictability rarely seen among European HTA bodies.

How Portugal’s HTA Process Works

Portugal’s health technology assessment framework remains the cornerstone for deciding which medicines the SNS will finance. After EU marketing authorisation, companies submit a funding application that undergoes systematic review: first a comparative clinical assessment, then an economic evaluation examining cost-effectiveness and budget impact, followed by negotiation to safeguard the sustainability of public resources. Only once these stages are complete does INFARMED issue a proposed decision for final approval by the Ministry of Health. Parallel Early Access Programmes (PAP) enable selected medicines to reach patients before formal reimbursement when urgent clinical need exists. The Tracker makes each of these steps visible to the public.

Strategic Benefits for Patients, Industry and Policy

By shining a light on health technology assessment timelines and milestones, the new platform reduces uncertainty for manufacturers, supports better forecasting, and enables patient organisations to anticipate when innovative therapies may become available. For health economics and outcomes research teams, the standardised public data open opportunities for benchmarking and process optimisation. The beta launch combined with an open call for stakeholder input also positions Portugal as a forward-looking example of collaborative, digital modernisation in European reimbursement systems.

(Source: INFARMED launches Tracker de Processos)