Capacity Building in Health Technology Assessment among Medical Officers in Southern Region of Tamil Nadu
Sept. 15, 2026
The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH&PM), Tamil Nadu, in collaboration with the ICMR National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR–NIRT), Chennai, and the Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, conducted the 3rd Sensitization Programme on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on 15 September 2026 at the Health and Family Welfare Training Centre, Viswanathapuram, Madurai.
The programme was supported by Dr. G. Krishnaleela, Joint Director (Training), DPH&PM, Chennai; Dr. V. Nalini, Principal, Health and Family Welfare Training Centre, Madurai; and Dr. S. Porchelvan, District Health Officer, Madurai. The programme brought together 50 participants, including Medical Officers, Assistant Surgeons, District TB and Training Medical Officers (DTTMOs), Assistant Programme Managers, Epidemiologists and other public health officials from the Health Unit Districts of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Palani, Sivagangai and Virudhunagar.
Technical sessions were delivered by Dr. M. Muniyandi, Scientist-E, ICMR–NIRT, covering the fundamentals of HTA in India and its application in public health programmes. The sessions addressed economic evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER), thresholds, sensitivity analysis and Net Health Benefit. Emphasis was placed on linking research evidence with health-system needs to support informed decision-making, efficient resource allocation and priority setting in healthcare.
An interactive session enabled participants to identify healthcare challenges and potential priority areas for HTA in their respective settings. The areas identified included diagnostics, screening, digital health, tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, immunisation, and maternal and newborn health, among others. Potential topics discussed included AI-assisted chest X-ray interpretation for TB screening, point-of-care diagnostics, digital queue management at PHCs, digital immunisation tracking, near-point-of-care NAAT for TB diagnosis, and wearable technologies for monitoring non-communicable diseases.
The programme provided a platform for strengthening awareness and capacity in HTA among frontline public health professionals and for identifying locally relevant health-system priorities where evidence-based assessment can support healthcare decision-making.
