Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 January 2016
233. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if members of the Health Information and Quality Authority report group examining the implication of vape products will be made public by his Department. [3464/16]
View answerThe Department of Health, in pursuing the recommendations of Tobacco Free Ireland requested the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to carry out a health technology assessment (HTA) of smoking cessation interventions. By conducting this HTA, HIQA will be in a position to provide impartial, expert advice on the value (clinical and economic) of a range of smoking cessation therapies to ensure the best outcome for the public and a prudent use of resources. The results of this health technology assessment will inform health policy decisions about potential improvements to the provision of smoking cessation services within Ireland’s public health service.
The HIQA HTA evaluation team will be advised by an expert advisory group during the course of this assessment, who will also review the team’s outputs. Once the expert advisory group has been constituted, HIQA will make the membership of the group publicly available on the HIQA website.
Interested parties will be invited to submit feedback via a public consultation on a draft HTA report before it is finalised and submitted as advice to the Minister for Health.
