Abstract
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is one of the tools that can be used to support rational and objective decision-making in healthcare in the endeavour to contain public expenditure while maintaining the availability of healthcare interventions. The complex process of HTA often struggles to find its place in public policies and faces pressure from various stakeholders. HTA has existed since the 1970s and as a formal process has its roots in the United States. During the 1980s, HTA began to spread outside the US and over the next twenty years, reached almost all European countries, including some countries in Central Europe. The rise of HTA brought about an exponential increase in the empirical studies of HTA available in academic databases. This study reviews the available literature to analyse the development and research topics and the potential pitfalls of HTA implementation.