Medical technology management: bridging the gap between theory and practice.

New medical technologies that offer to improve upon or completely replace existing ones are continuously appearing. These technologies are forcing healthcare policymakers to consistently evaluate new treatment options. However, emerging medical technology has been viewed as a significant factor in increasing the cost of healthcare. The abundance of new medical alternatives, combined with scarcity of resources, has led to priority setting, rationing, and the need for further technology management and assessment. Economic evaluation of medical technologies is a system of analysis within the framework of health technology assessment to formally compare the costs and consequences of alternative healthcare interventions. EEMT can be used by many healthcare entities, including national policymakers, manufacturers, payers and providers, as a tool to aid in resource allocation decisions. In this paper we discuss the historical evolution and potential of EEMT, the practical limitations hindering more extensive implementation of these types of studies, current efforts at improvement, and the ethical issues influencing ongoing development. The Medical Technologies Administration in Israel's Ministry of Health is given as an example of an entity that has succeeded in practically implementing EEMT to optimize healthcare resource allocation.