The UK DCTN represents the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) as an affiliate organisation for the NHS R & D Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme.
If you would like to submit a suggestion to the HTA for research relating to skin disease, we suggest you submit it via the Network. We review all suggestions i.e. those that are Network related as well as those that are completely independent.
The proposal will be reviewed via the process detailed below and, if accepted, will be submitted to the HTA along with the affiliate identification code. This code will flag to the HTA priority setting panels that the suggestion is sourced from a designated affiliate organisation. Vignettes submitted in this way are given a higher priority in the assessment process than those submitted by individuals.
The process for submission of suggestions to the HTA through the Network is:
Stage 1
Complete the HTA vignette and send it to Jo Chalmers.The HTA website contains a lot of helpful advice about how to complete the vignette (www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk). Look in the 'Get involved' section, under 'Make a suggestion'.
Stage 2
Your submission will be considered by the UK DCTN Executive Group and peer reviewed by two Network members, or colleagues from outside the Network if appropriate.
If any member of the Executive Group has a conflict of interest (e.g. if they are involved in the submitted proposal) then they will not be involved in the decision making for that vignette.
This review process will take a maximum of four weeks.
Stage 3
You will be notified of the outcome.
If your proposal is accepted the Network co-ordinating centre will add the identification code and submit your proposal to the HTA.
If the proposal is rejected by the reviewers, then the reasons will be communicated to the author for consideration. At this point, you can choose to submit directly to the HTA without affiliate approval or resubmit a revised proposal to the Network.
If you would like more information about submitting a suggestion to the HTA, please visit the HTA website.
