Priority Setting for Innovation in the Health System
When resources are limited, not every new idea can move forward— but the right ones can make a real difference in the healthcare system. Priority setting in the health system helps us focus on disease areas and innovations that truly matter— those that tackle the biggest health challenges and bring the biggest health outcomes to people’s lives.
About PRISM
PRISM (Priority Setting for Innovation in the Health System) is a strategic tool that identifies and prioritizes Thailand’s most pressing health challenges by analyzing both disease and financial burdens on the healthcare system. Its goal is to guide innovation development and inform policy decisions to build a more efficient and impactful health innovation ecosystem.
Introduction to PRISM
PRISM— Priority Setting for Innovation in the Health System— is a strategic tool designed to identify and prioritize the most pressing health challenges and pain points in Thailand— those that press greatest burden on the population and the national healthcare system. It considers both the burden of disease and the expenditure burden to identify critical pain-points within the health system. The goal is to guide the development of innovations that address these needs and to support more effective policy decision-making for an efficient innovation ecosystem.
A research team from MIDAS and HITAP developed PRISM to prioritize health innovations that align with the needs of the public health system. This was accomplished by comparing the health burden of the Thai population with the financial burden on the healthcare system. The analysis utilizes inpatient statistics from 2016 to 2021 from the National Health Security Office (NHSO), as well as disease burden data from the Global Burden of Disease and the published Burden of Disease Thailand study by the International Health Policy Program Foundation (IHPP) and a list of registered health innovations from the Thai Innovation List.
PRISM helps identify diseases or health conditions that pose significant challenges to the Thai health system. It can be used to guide the direction of innovation development to ensure targeted impact and support effective policy decisions— ultimately aiming to reduce the overall burden on the health system in the long run and promote an efficient innovation ecosystem.
What is Early HTA?
Early HTA is a proactive approach that evaluates health innovations during their early research and development stages— when design and investment decisions are still flexible, and risks are relatively low.
Key benefits and features:
Unlike traditional HTA, which occurs after market entry, early HTA supports decision-making before regulatory approval.
It guides innovators to align with health system needs from the beginning.
Helps prioritize disease areas, define target product profiles, clarify value propositions, and address unmet clinical needs.
Aims to reduce R&D risk, improve market readiness, and increase the likelihood of adoption in healthcare systems.
Who benefits: Innovators, funders, investors, and policymakers.
Meet the team
PRISM was developed by a team of experts from the Medical Innovation Development and Assessment Support (MIDAS) and the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program Foundation (HITAP).
Dr.Wang Yi
MIDAS co-director
Dr.Yot Teerawattananon
MIDAS co-director and HITAP Senior Researcher
Dr.Teerawat Wiwatpanit
MIDAS
Puwadol Chawengkul
MIDAS
Nann Vongpuapan
HITAP Communication Unit
Kanokporn Srivarom
HITAP Communication Unit
Pusanisa Boonanek
HITAP Communication Unit
Our Partners
PRISM was developed by the Medical Innovation Development and Assessment Support (MIDAS), jointly supported by the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program Foundation (HITAP) and Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (NUS). The PRISM project was supporte by Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI), Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) and National Health Security Office.
