The healthcare sector is witnessing an escalating demand for timely, pertinent, and high-quality evidence that extends beyond conventional sources. From extensive healthcare transaction data to personal wearables and environmental trends, these demands present opportunities for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to innovate and collaborate, positioning itself at the forefront of addressing both technological and non-technological changes in healthcare.

Next Generation (NextGen) Evidence embodies a transformative shift in how we generate, analyze, interpret, and utilize evidence in HTA. It embraces a spectrum of solutions, from high-tech to low-tech, reflecting the evolving global perspectives and capacities needed to meet diverse healthcare demands. This type of evidence expands the scope of HTA to encompass greater dimensions of health technology impact, innovative trial designs, non-traditional data sources, equity considerations, environmental factors, advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and adaptive HTA methods.

NextGen Evidence prioritizes addressing emerging questions, engaging stakeholders meaningfully, and ensuring the voices of patients and healthcare professionals are heard throughout the HTA process. It involves responding to policymakers' urgent needs for faster turnaround times for HTA reports, while managing dimensions like equity and environmental impacts. By incorporating considerations of global health risks, climate change, and environmental consequences, HTA remains relevant and responsive to evolving global health systems.

Leveraging AI and digital technology advances like machine learning, HTA can process diverse real-world data sets more efficiently, providing richer evidence for decision-making. Adaptive HTA optimizes the process by adjusting for factors such as data availability and analytical time, enhancing its responsiveness and utility across different contexts and technological maturity levels.

Additionally, NextGen Evidence underscores the importance of inclusivity and diversity in evidence generation, aiming to capture a wide range of perspectives from patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and the public. Trust is foundational, necessitating transparent methods understandable to stakeholders, while countering misinformation with honest communication and responsible AI usage.

As we step into a new era of HTA, NextGen Evidence represents a significant advancement in HTA, incorporating advanced technologies, adaptive methodologies, and a broader scope of impacts, including equity and environmental considerations. Its goal is to provide comprehensive, timely, and relevant evidence to support fairer healthcare decisions globally.

Join us in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to delve into these topics and contribute to the ongoing conversations shaping the future of HTA:

1. Global Collaboration and Local Implementation
• What are emerging forms of national and international collaboration in HTA?
• How do we collaborate on advancements globally but implement locally?
2. Innovations and Adaptive Methodologies and Innovations in HTA
• What new methodologies are needed to allow HTA to adapt for analytical time, data, capacity, and source of conduct?
• Are AI-based systematic reviews and meta-analyses ready for routine incorporation into HTA?
• What is the current toolkit of adaptive and other innovative clinical trial designs?
• What is the state-of-the-art in horizon scanning? How can it evolve to better serve HTA?
3. Equity and Fairness in HTA
• How can HTA contribute to better decisions, to fairer decisions, to and greater equity?
• How can we incorporate equity impact assessment into HTA best practices?

The 2025 Annual Meeting will serve as a platform to explore these questions, foster collaborations, and drive the advancement of HTA to meet the dynamic needs of global healthcare systems.