The Swiss Medical Board (SMB) is widely recognised as the Swiss centre of competence in health technology assessment. With science-based facts, it contributes to ensuring that people in positions of responsibility in the healthcare sector have access to the necessary information upon which to base decisions. The SMB thereby contributes to good quality of care and efficient use of resources in healthcare provision.
The SMB is committed to the best possible use of resources in healthcare in order to optimise care quality for patients.
The SMB develops recommendations for decision-making in the healthcare sector. In doing so it assesses medical, ethical, economic, legal and social aspects of medical services and enables desirable and undesirable effects to be compared (benefits, risks, damage, costs).
The SMB is transparent and involves all stakeholders in the HTA process. Guidelines and recommendations are published on the results. These can be implemented on a voluntary basis. The SMB ensures, by accompanying measures, that the recommendations can be implemented and achieved in a sustainable manner.
The SMB is independent in its selection of topics and also addresses issues that cannot be treated by a service commission. It predominantly analyses sensitive areas and controversial medical interventions that have already been introduced.
The SMB defines itself by a balanced, scientifically based approach which complies with international standards. The selected methodology is tailored as far as possible to the appropriate issues.
The SMB intends to achieve its objectives by the following measures: