📄 Download the full Thailand case study. (Also in this series: Ghana and the Netherlands.)
Health leaders in all health systems must make critical decisions about which products―including diagnostics, medical devices, medicines, and vaccines―and services to provide within the constraints of their health budget. Between the global pipeline that brings technologies to market and the national systems that must deliver them at scale lies a critical inflection point: health innovation introduction. Prioritization―which often includes health technology assessment (HTA) processes―is an essential function of innovation introduction, as are the coordinated set of national and subnational processes through which innovations are prepared for sustained, scaled access (e.g., regulatory review, procurement, supply chain planning, etc).
Thailand’s approach to health product prioritization―among the most fully institutionalized in middle-income countries―is anchored in the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP). Health technology assessment (HTA) has become a crucial tool used in many countries to guide prioritization and decision-making related to healthcare packages and innovations. Thailand was an early implementer of HTA, and HITAP is often viewed as a model for other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
This case study is one in a series of decision-making deep dives produced by the ALIGN Consortium as part of our shared learning agenda. Each examines how a particular country has navigated the persistent challenge of introducing new health innovations—how it evaluates, prioritizes, finances, and sustains them within real fiscal and political constraints. Our aim is not to rank systems or prescribe a single model, but to understand how reform actually unfolds: what enables it, what constrains it, and what does and does not transfer across contexts. These cases inform ALIGN’s work alongside national partners and are offered in the spirit of mutual learning. We welcome reactions, corrections, and counter-examples from colleagues who know these systems first-hand.