R for HTA (Basics)
A 3-Day Workshop on Using R for Health Technology Assessment
Organised by
Regional Resource Centre for Health Technology Assessment
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal
Under the aegis of Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn), Department of Health Research
Welcome
This workshop introduces R as a tool for health technology assessment. It is designed for scientists at Regional Resource Centres (RRCs), health economists, and anyone working in or interested in HTA who currently uses Excel or TreeAge and wants to explore what R can offer.
This is not a coding bootcamp. You will not memorise R syntax. Instead, you will:
- Understand why R is increasingly preferred for HTA in academic and policy settings
- See real-world Indian HTA examples implemented in R
- Learn to read R code well enough to understand what a model is doing
- Modify existing code — change inputs, adapt parameters, rerun analyses
- Take home ready-to-use templates for four common HTA model types
- Learn how to use available tools (including generative AI) to support your R workflow
What You Will Work With
Over three days, you will explore four HTA models grounded in Indian clinical and economic data:
| Model | Clinical Question |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic Decision Tree | Should we implement universal screening for gestational diabetes using OGTT vs risk-based screening? |
| Therapeutic Decision Tree | Are drug-eluting stents cost-effective compared to bare metal stents for coronary artery disease in the Indian setting? |
| 4-State Markov Model | Is early CKD screening and ACE-inhibitor intervention cost-effective compared to standard care? |
| Partitioned Survival Model | Is trastuzumab cost-effective for HER2+ breast cancer in India? |
Materials
Each session includes annotated explanatory modules (viewable on this website), plus downloadable exercise and solution .qmd files that you open in RStudio. Four interactive Shiny app templates are also provided.
Visit the Downloads page to get all exercise files, solution files, and Shiny app code.
Before You Begin
Please ensure you have:
- R installed (version 4.3 or later) — Download R
- RStudio installed — Download RStudio
- Required packages installed — run the setup code in the Setup Guide