What HTAsiaLink 2026 showed about the future of HTA in Asia-Pacific

The HTAsiaLink 2026 conference met in Taipei from 1 to 4 September 2026 under the theme “A Step Forward: Powering Policy Impact with HTA in Asia.” Across four days at the Taipei International Convention Center, one question kept resurfacing: how health technology assessment can turn evidence into better policy while working within the limits of different health systems.

HTAi took part throughout the week. President Ann Single, Vice President Debjani Mueller, Secretary Anke-Peggy Holtorf, Executive Director George Valiotis and Policy Forum Advisory Committee Chair Wim Goettsch joined plenaries, workshops and discussions alongside agencies, researchers and patient representatives from across the region.

Shared challenges at HTAsiaLink 2026

Ann Single opened the conference and moderated the first plenary, “Facing Uncertainty Together: Shared HTA Challenges and Diverse Approaches.” The session looked at how health systems decide when evidence is uncertain and how they adapt HTA methods to local needs. The same pressures came up again and again: assessing innovation, addressing equity, managing scarce resources, and deciding when the evidence is enough.

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George Valiotis moderated the second plenary, “Evidence Evolving: Rethinking What Works in Real-World Complexities,” with a panel of Louise Goh, Miyoung Choi, Yasuhiro Morii, Huang-tz Ou and Li Ying “Grace” Huang, drawing on Singapore, Korea and Japan alongside the host setting in Taipei. The conversation covered decision-making under uncertainty, the balance between timely patient access and stronger evidence, and the responsible use of real-world evidence across a technology’s lifecycle.

AI and digital health: opportunity and caution

Debjani Mueller spoke in the third plenary, “One Size Does Not Fit All: The Future of HTA in a Dynamic Technology Era,” facilitated by Alric Ruethers, President of INAHTA. Her presentation considered how artificial intelligence and digital health could enter HTA while keeping sound methods, appropriate governance and human judgement in place.

Audience discussion captured both sides of the AI question. Many participants felt HTA was not changing quickly enough to keep pace with the technology. Others raised concerns about non-expert use of AI, hallucinations, and the risk that junior staff lose the hands-on work that builds senior expertise. The exchange pointed to a clear need for more thoughtful and responsible use of AI in HTA.

Patient involvement as a regional priority

Patient involvement ran through the programme. A pre-conference workshop led by HTAi’s Patient and Citizen Involvement in HTA Interest Group shared early findings from the Asia Pacific 360 project, co-led by Ann Single and Fiona Pearce. The work spans 16 Asia-Pacific jurisdictions and draws on 168 survey responses from 14 of them. Participants discussed how patients are currently involved in HTA, the barriers that remain, and the support organisations need to improve their approach.

Anke-Peggy Holtorf contributed to the patient involvement exchange with practical examples from different HTA systems. With Ann Single and Karen Facey, she also shared the open-access second edition of Patient Involvement in Health Technology Assessment with conference participants.

A partnership entering its third year

HTAi and HTAsiaLink have built an active partnership through shared scientific work and regional exchange. The two organisations signed a three-party memorandum of understanding with ISPOR in 2020 and renewed their agreement in November 2023. Recent work includes a joint webinar on patient and citizen involvement across the region in November 2024, and collaboration with ISPOR on HTA guideline development that produced Good Practices for HTA Guideline Development.

As the partnership enters its third year, the two organisations are updating the memorandum and weighing new priorities: capacity building, patient involvement, responsible AI, peer learning and regional engagement. Wim Goettsch noted that greater global collaboration could advance HTA science, a point several speakers echoed. The conference also recognised Taiwan’s legislation establishing an independent National Center for Health Technology Assessment, a step toward strengthening HTA’s formal role in health policy.

Source: HTAi