Focused Searches on OvidGO! are designed to make database searches discoverable, accessible and actionable.
For more information, check our FAQ. If your question is not addressed there, please do not hesitate to contact us.
PICO Searching
A&I databases such as Ovid MEDLINE lend themselves well to targeted searching of scientific literature. This is because they are composed of very granular units of information in the form of database FIELDS. And are usually indexed using a controlled vocabulary, also referred to as a thesaurus. Ovid MEDLINE uses the MeSH thesaurus.
Where a medical intervention is being assessed, a commonly used format for structured searching is the PICO approach. Here, P stands for population or patient group, I for intervention, C for a comparator and O for outcome or outcomes. This format has gained prominence in the assessment of the efficacy of drug-based interventions. When searching on each of these four components, i.e. Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcomes, it is recommended practice that the searcher conducts a thesaurus search supplemented by a free term search for each one.
Populations, the first component of PICO searching, presents its own issues and challenges. Groups of people are inherently diverse. They may be differently or even contentiously labelled. This has the consequence that they may be difficult to locate and identify within the scientific literature. In some cases even to the extent of remaining ‘invisible’.
The Population ‘Pregnancy’
This Focused Search addresses population around the condition of pregnancy. The Ovid search filter being made available here is based upon part of an Embase on Ovid search filter (see Ref. 2 below) that was developed and used in a systematic review produced for a health technology assessment carried out in 2016 by NIHR, part of the NHS in the UK. (See Ref. 1 below for the full HTA publication reference).
The Original PubMed Search
The original Embase on Ovid search filter half is as given below. Note that search line #1 as displayed below corresponds with search line #13 in the original version.
The Search Filter Amended for Use on Ovid
The version of this filter rendered for use on Ovid MEDLINE is given below.
exp pregnancy/ or exp pregnancy complications/ or exp maternal health services/ or exp fetus/ or exp fetal therapies/ or exp fetal monitoring/ or exp perinatal care/ or exp labor pain or exp analgesia, obstetrical/ or exp anesthesia, obstetrical/ or exp obstetric surgical procedures/ or exp infant, newborn/ or exp postpartum period/ or exp breast feeding/ or exp prenatal diagnosis/ or exp obstetrics/ or exp prenatal education/ or (breast-feeding education or parturition or ante natal or antenatal* or pre natal* or prenatal* or puerper* or postnatal* or postpartum or post partum or post natal* or peripartum or peri partum or prepregnancy or pre pregnancy or preconception* or pre conception* or periconception* or peri conception* or ((preterm or premature) and (labor or labour)) or eclamp* or preeclamp* or pre eclamp* or amniocentes* or chorion* vill* or breastfe* or breast fe* or lactation* or cesarean or caesarean or cesarian or caesarian or cesarien or caesarien or newborn* or new born* or tocoly* or fetal or foetal or fetus or foetus or miscarriage* or pregnancy or pregnancies or pregnant).ti,ab,kf.
It can be run directly in Ovid by using the jumpstart link as given < here >. This version of the search filter was last reviewed on 13th February 2023 and as mentioned, draws upon – but is not an exact reproduction of - the search filter Appendix 2 - Search strategy: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group which can be found via the link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379828/
On Ovid we are also able to provide a focused version of the search filter which has the database narrow the search down to major terms as listed in the MeSH thesaurus. These are displayed in Ovid by an asterisk (*) preceding the MeSH term as shown in this particular version of the search below.
exp *pregnancy/ or exp *pregnancy complications/ or exp *maternal health services/ or exp *fetus/ or exp *fetal therapies/ or exp *fetal monitoring/ or exp *perinatal care/ or exp *labor pain or exp *analgesia, obstetrical/ or exp *anesthesia, obstetrical/ or exp *obstetric surgical procedures/ or exp *infant, newborn/ or exp *postpartum period/ or exp *breast feeding/ or exp *prenatal diagnosis/ or exp *obstetrics/ or exp *prenatal education/ or (breast-feeding education or parturition or ante natal or antenatal* or pre natal* or prenatal* or puerper* or postnatal* or postpartum or post partum or post natal* or peripartum or peri partum or prepregnancy or pre pregnancy or preconception* or pre conception* or periconception* or peri conception* or ((preterm or premature) and (labor or labour)) or eclamp* or preeclamp* or pre eclamp* or amniocentes* or chorion* vill* or breastfe* or breast fe* or lactation* or cesarean or caesarean or cesarian or caesarian or cesarien or caesarien or newborn* or new born* or tocoly* or fetal or foetal or fetus or foetus or miscarriage* or pregnancy or pregnancies or pregnant).ti,kf.
This version of the search filter can be run directly in Ovid by using the jumpstart link as given < here >. Also reviewed lastly on 13th February 2023, this filter not only employs focussed, i.e.*MeSH Term, subject headings but also only uses the database fields Title (TI) and Keywords (KF) for the free-text component of the strategy.
The Search Filter on Ovid
The two ways in which these search filters can be use on Ovid are shown below.
Line #1 employs the docz.dz command which displays all the records in the database at the time the command is executed. This serves as an example search upon which the Ovid Pregnancy – Wide search filter can be applied, see line #2. The ‘limit’ version of the search does not display the terms and phrases that made up the filter. However, where the same search is run, either from this Focused Search or from its listing in the Database Field Guide, the terms and phrases are show and can be verified or altered. See line #3.
Lines #4, #5 and #6 provides the same information for the Ovid Pregnancy Search Filter – Focused version of the search filter.
To run the above search in Ovid MEDLINE, click < here >.
(*) Editor's Note: This is an updated, or in some cases, a completely revised version of a search filter formerly available on the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal. All such search filters are marked with the asterisk character placed at the end of the long title. If you have any questions relating to the migration of this search filter between the two portals, please contact us directly via [email protected] .
Primary: Michael Fanning
Secondary: Charlotte Viken
Review Date: 2025-06-23
Expiry Date: 2026-06-23
Ovid Training Team
Ref. 1: Main Reference:
Which method is best for the induction of labour? A systematic review, network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5027380
Ref. 2: Search Filter Reference:
Appendix 2 - Search strategy: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379828/
Note: See the Embase on Ovid search from line #13 onwards, which using Ovid syntax, has been converted into a version for Ovid MEDLINE.
OvidGO! / Skills Videos
What are Boolean Operators?
What is an adjacency operator?
What are wildcards?
Subject heading searching
Truncation of keywords
Phrase searching on Ovid
exp pregnancy/ or exp pregnancy complications/ or exp maternal health services/ or exp fetus/ or exp fetal therapies/ or exp fetal monitoring/ or exp perinatal care/ or exp labor pain or exp analgesia, obstetrical/ or exp anesthesia, obstetrical/ or exp obstetric surgical procedures/ or exp infant, newborn/ or exp postpartum period/ or exp breast feeding/ or exp prenatal diagnosis/ or exp obstetrics/ or exp prenatal education/ or (breast-feeding education or parturition or ante natal or antenatal* or pre natal* or prenatal* or puerper* or postnatal* or postpartum or post partum or post natal* or peripartum or peri partum or prepregnancy or pre pregnancy or preconception* or pre conception* or periconception* or peri conception* or ((preterm or premature) and (labor or labour)) or eclamp* or preeclamp* or pre eclamp* or amniocentes* or chorion* vill* or breastfe* or breast fe* or lactation* or cesarean or caesarean or cesarian or caesarian or cesarien or caesarien or newborn* or new born* or tocoly* or fetal or foetal or fetus or foetus or miscarriage* or pregnancy or pregnancies or pregnant).ti,ab,kf.
Database: Ovid MEDLINE ALL <1946 to Present>
How to locate references specifically to pregnancy in Ovid MEDLINE. (*)
PICO Searching
A&I databases such as Ovid MEDLINE lend themselves well to targeted searching of scientific literature. This is because they are composed of very granular units of information in the form of database FIELDS. And are usually indexed using a controlled vocabulary, also referred to as a thesaurus. Ovid MEDLINE uses the MeSH thesaurus.
Where a medical intervention is being assessed, a commonly used format for structured searching is the PICO approach. Here, P stands for population or patient group, I for intervention, C for a comparator and O for outcome or outcomes. This format has gained prominence in the assessment of the efficacy of drug-based interventions. When searching on each of these four components, i.e. Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcomes, it is recommended practice that the searcher conducts a thesaurus search supplemented by a free term search for each one.
Populations, the first component of PICO searching, presents its own issues and challenges. Groups of people are inherently diverse. They may be differently or even contentiously labelled. This has the consequence that they may be difficult to locate and identify within the scientific literature. In some cases even to the extent of remaining ‘invisible’.
The Population ‘Pregnancy’
This Focused Search addresses population around the condition of pregnancy. The Ovid search filter being made available here is based upon part of an Embase on Ovid search filter (see Ref. 2 below) that was developed and used in a systematic review produced for a health technology assessment carried out in 2016 by NIHR, part of the NHS in the UK. (See Ref. 1 below for the full HTA publication reference).
The Original PubMed Search
The original Embase on Ovid search filter half is as given below. Note that search line #1 as displayed below corresponds with search line #13 in the original version.
The Search Filter Amended for Use on Ovid
The version of this filter rendered for use on Ovid MEDLINE is given below.
exp pregnancy/ or exp pregnancy complications/ or exp maternal health services/ or exp fetus/ or exp fetal therapies/ or exp fetal monitoring/ or exp perinatal care/ or exp labor pain or exp analgesia, obstetrical/ or exp anesthesia, obstetrical/ or exp obstetric surgical procedures/ or exp infant, newborn/ or exp postpartum period/ or exp breast feeding/ or exp prenatal diagnosis/ or exp obstetrics/ or exp prenatal education/ or (breast-feeding education or parturition or ante natal or antenatal* or pre natal* or prenatal* or puerper* or postnatal* or postpartum or post partum or post natal* or peripartum or peri partum or prepregnancy or pre pregnancy or preconception* or pre conception* or periconception* or peri conception* or ((preterm or premature) and (labor or labour)) or eclamp* or preeclamp* or pre eclamp* or amniocentes* or chorion* vill* or breastfe* or breast fe* or lactation* or cesarean or caesarean or cesarian or caesarian or cesarien or caesarien or newborn* or new born* or tocoly* or fetal or foetal or fetus or foetus or miscarriage* or pregnancy or pregnancies or pregnant).ti,ab,kf.
It can be run directly in Ovid by using the jumpstart link as given < here >. This version of the search filter was last reviewed on 13th February 2023 and as mentioned, draws upon – but is not an exact reproduction of - the search filter Appendix 2 - Search strategy: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group which can be found via the link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379828/
On Ovid we are also able to provide a focused version of the search filter which has the database narrow the search down to major terms as listed in the MeSH thesaurus. These are displayed in Ovid by an asterisk (*) preceding the MeSH term as shown in this particular version of the search below.
exp *pregnancy/ or exp *pregnancy complications/ or exp *maternal health services/ or exp *fetus/ or exp *fetal therapies/ or exp *fetal monitoring/ or exp *perinatal care/ or exp *labor pain or exp *analgesia, obstetrical/ or exp *anesthesia, obstetrical/ or exp *obstetric surgical procedures/ or exp *infant, newborn/ or exp *postpartum period/ or exp *breast feeding/ or exp *prenatal diagnosis/ or exp *obstetrics/ or exp *prenatal education/ or (breast-feeding education or parturition or ante natal or antenatal* or pre natal* or prenatal* or puerper* or postnatal* or postpartum or post partum or post natal* or peripartum or peri partum or prepregnancy or pre pregnancy or preconception* or pre conception* or periconception* or peri conception* or ((preterm or premature) and (labor or labour)) or eclamp* or preeclamp* or pre eclamp* or amniocentes* or chorion* vill* or breastfe* or breast fe* or lactation* or cesarean or caesarean or cesarian or caesarian or cesarien or caesarien or newborn* or new born* or tocoly* or fetal or foetal or fetus or foetus or miscarriage* or pregnancy or pregnancies or pregnant).ti,kf.
This version of the search filter can be run directly in Ovid by using the jumpstart link as given < here >. Also reviewed lastly on 13th February 2023, this filter not only employs focussed, i.e.*MeSH Term, subject headings but also only uses the database fields Title (TI) and Keywords (KF) for the free-text component of the strategy.
The Search Filter on Ovid
The two ways in which these search filters can be use on Ovid are shown below.
Line #1 employs the docz.dz command which displays all the records in the database at the time the command is executed. This serves as an example search upon which the Ovid Pregnancy – Wide search filter can be applied, see line #2. The ‘limit’ version of the search does not display the terms and phrases that made up the filter. However, where the same search is run, either from this Focused Search or from its listing in the Database Field Guide, the terms and phrases are show and can be verified or altered. See line #3.
Lines #4, #5 and #6 provides the same information for the Ovid Pregnancy Search Filter – Focused version of the search filter.
To run the above search in Ovid MEDLINE, click < here >.
(*) Editor's Note: This is an updated, or in some cases, a completely revised version of a search filter formerly available on the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal. All such search filters are marked with the asterisk character placed at the end of the long title. If you have any questions relating to the migration of this search filter between the two portals, please contact us directly via [email protected] .
exp pregnancy/ or exp pregnancy complications/ or exp maternal health services/ or exp fetus/ or exp fetal therapies/ or exp fetal monitoring/ or exp perinatal care/ or exp labor pain or exp analgesia, obstetrical/ or exp anesthesia, obstetrical/ or exp obstetric surgical procedures/ or exp infant, newborn/ or exp postpartum period/ or exp breast feeding/ or exp prenatal diagnosis/ or exp obstetrics/ or exp prenatal education/ or (breast-feeding education or parturition or ante natal or antenatal* or pre natal* or prenatal* or puerper* or postnatal* or postpartum or post partum or post natal* or peripartum or peri partum or prepregnancy or pre pregnancy or preconception* or pre conception* or periconception* or peri conception* or ((preterm or premature) and (labor or labour)) or eclamp* or preeclamp* or pre eclamp* or amniocentes* or chorion* vill* or breastfe* or breast fe* or lactation* or cesarean or caesarean or cesarian or caesarian or cesarien or caesarien or newborn* or new born* or tocoly* or fetal or foetal or fetus or foetus or miscarriage* or pregnancy or pregnancies or pregnant).ti,ab,kf.
Primary: Michael Fanning
Secondary: Charlotte Viken
Review Date: 2025-06-23
Expiry Date: 2026-06-23
Ovid Training Team
Ref. 1: Main Reference:
Which method is best for the induction of labour? A systematic review, network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5027380
Ref. 2: Search Filter Reference:
Appendix 2 - Search strategy: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379828/
Note: See the Embase on Ovid search from line #13 onwards, which using Ovid syntax, has been converted into a version for Ovid MEDLINE.
OvidGO! / Skills Videos
What are Boolean Operators?
What is an adjacency operator?
What are wildcards?
Subject heading searching
Truncation of keywords
Phrase searching on Ovid
Version: 2025-06-23
Visited:
OvidGo! - Wolters Kluwer - Health Learning, Research and Practice
OvidGO! Portal. Focused Searches: Population Localisation: Pregnancy - Ovid MEDLINE [Internet]. London (UK): Ovid Training Team (Editors); 2025 [updated 18 June 2025; cited 20 June 2025]. Available from: https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=134
Version: 2025-06-23
Visited:
How to use an economics evaluation search filter, designed for Ovid MEDLINE, in the context of HTA dossier construction. (*)
Ovid MEDLINE ALL <1946 to Present>
Ovid Training Team
2025-08-14
Search Filters
Many of the searches on OvidGO! / Focused Searches employ the PICO approach, where P stands for population or patient group, I for intervention, C for a comparator and O for outcome or outcomes, to search systematically for studies relating to the efficacy or otherwise, of a specified medical intervention. Such interventions or medicinal products, can be drug-based, device-based, a mixture of both as well as public health policy related interventions.
Generally speaking, for such medicinal products to be approved by the national healthcare system; in terms of safe use, value for money and hence funding, the medicinal product in question usually undergoes a health technology assessment (HTA). The overall responsibility of national healthcare authorities, an HTA for a medicinal product submitted by a Health Technology Developer (HTD) is carried out by mandated public authorities, referred to as Health Technology Agencies or by organisations appointed by them or the national healthcare authority.
Across countries and regions, the provision of healthcare, its means of funding, the pertinent legal and regulatory frameworks that embrace it, as well as the ethical and social norms that percolate through it, all differ widely. This has practical consequences for the cross-border sharing of scientific and clinical information that produced for medicinal products in one country, may be beneficial to patients in another.
Over the past two decades the European Union has sought to address this problem through regulatory initiatives. The resulting legislative acts, enacted some years back, now apply from 12th January 2025. The 2021 EU HTA Regulation (HTAR) (see References below, Ref. 1) constitutes a major milestone. The HTAR establishes a regulatory framework throughout the European Economic Area (EER) whereby local Member State national healthcare authorities are still the primary authority over HTA decision making, but that certain (and key) sources of evidence can be shared.
These key sources of evidence are the joint clinical assessment (JCA) and the joint scientific consultation (JSC). This has the practical effect that for example, a drug therapy being assessed for deployment in Germany, can be run through the German AMNOG assessment system but also draw upon clinical evaluation studies from France or Italy etc.. And even the UK and USA where relevant. The latter also possible because the legislation sees the sharing of information not only across the EEA, but also through the observation of established evidence acquisition and synthesis principles and best practice, in alignment with Australia, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Of note for this Focused Search is Article 2 (5) HTAR which defines health technology assessment in the following terms,
"‘health technology assessment’ or ‘HTA’ means a multidisciplinary process that summarises information about the medical, patient and social aspects and the economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, transparent, unbiased and robust manner;"
Subsequent legislation, the 2024 EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act (see References below, Ref. 2) provides practical details regarding the construction of a dossier for the joint clinical assessment of a medicinal product. The HTA dossier is the principle information package a Health Technology Developer (HTD) needs to submit to their relevant Health Technology Agency. Specifically, Annex I of the above act provides a template for the dossier of the joint clinical assessment of a medical product. Section 4.2 of this Annex I covers information retrieval and selection of relevant studies. With respect to bibliographic databases that should be consulted, specific mention is made of Medline and the Cochrane Database of Controlled Trials. The Annex also provides details of how searches need to be documented, date stamped, run on a regular basis and no more than 3 months old from the date of submitting the HTA dossier.
This Focused Search is composed of two parts.
Part 1 will show you how Ovid can help you run a tried and tested economic evaluation search filter on Ovid MEDLINE. This covers in part the economic side of the multidisciplinary approach to constructing an HTA dossier. Part 2 on the other hand, will show you how this search filter (and with that, search strategies generally) can be efficiently integrated into your dossier construction workflow where the following are concerned,
Part 1 – The Economic Evaluations Search Filter
The search filter for economic evaluations in this Focused Search is from SIGN. A UK public body, SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). In its role as a producer of evidence-based guidelines for healthcare institutions and professionals in Scotland, SIGN has developed a selection of A&I database search filters to locate systematic reviews, RCTs, studies by type, e.g. observational, diagnostic and economic, as well as for patient issues. The search filters are not validated in a strict sense. Developed in-house they are all nevertheless tried and tested and are regularly used by SIGN in their evidence-gathering activities. Where the filters have leant towards other sources, e.g. Cochrane or CRD, this is stated in a preface to the search filter.
The Original SIGN Search
The original SIGN search filter designed to retrieve economic studies and operate on the Ovid platform on a line-by-line basis is as given below.
Economics/
"costs and cost analysis"/
Cost allocation/
Cost-benefit analysis/
Cost control/
Cost savings/
Cost of illness/
Cost sharing/
"deductibles and coinsurance"/
Medical savings accounts/
Health care costs/
Direct service costs/
Drug costs/
Employer health costs/
Hospital costs/
Health expenditures/
Capital expenditures/
Value of life/
Exp economics, hospital/
Exp economics, medical/
Economics, nursing/
Economics, pharmaceutical/
Exp "fees and charges"/
Exp budgets/
(low adj cost).mp.
(high adj cost).mp.
(health?care adj cost$).mp.
(fiscal or funding or financial or finance).tw.
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
(economic$ or pharmacoeconomic$ or price$ or pricing).tw.
Or/1-32The Search Filter Amended for Use on Ovid
This version of the search filter, as given below, has been compacted to the ‘paragraph format’ which runs in Ovid as a single line.
Economics/ OR "costs and cost analysis"/ OR Cost allocation/ OR Cost-benefit analysis/ OR Cost control/ OR Cost savings/ OR Cost of illness/ OR Cost sharing/ OR "deductibles and coinsurance"/ OR Medical savings accounts/ OR Health care costs/ OR Direct service costs/ OR Drug costs/ OR Employer health costs/ OR Hospital costs/ OR Health expenditures/ OR Capital expenditures/ OR Value of life/ OR Exp economics, hospital/ OR Exp economics, medical/ OR Economics, nursing/ OR Economics, pharmaceutical/ OR Exp "fees and charges"/ OR Exp budgets/ OR (low adj cost).mp. OR (high adj cost).mp. OR (health?care adj cost$).mp. OR (fiscal or funding or financial or finance).tw. OR (cost adj estimate$).mp. OR (cost adj variable).mp. OR (unit adj cost$).mp. OR (economic$ or pharmacoeconomic$ or price$ or pricing).tw.It can be copied and pasted into the Ovid Advanced Search command box or run directly in Ovid using the following < jumpstart link >.
Part 2 – Workflow Integration
Constructing the HTA dossier is an involved undertaking. Between the initial dossier and its final submission, there may be numerous iterations of it. This implies numerous renditions of search strategies, be they for economic studies or for the PICO based searches around the medicinal product, being the object of the submission. Ovid features and functionality can help you optimise your workflow to accommodate this dynamism. For example,
On Ovid the Share Search History box offers three options to easily and efficiently share search histories. In the section References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slides 47 to 51.
The Ovid platform provides various means of documenting search strategies. Internal tools such as Share Search History options, discussed above, allow you to easily share and document search strategies. In My Workspace, search strategies can also be stored, re-run and annotated to accommodate versioning. External tools, such as the Ovid Search History Launcher, available via the Ovid Tools and Resources Portal facilitates moving search strategies between Ovid and your document processing environments. For example, moving searches in and out of MS Word. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 47.
Time stamps can be added to searches inline in the form of annotations by using the Actions / More / Edit feature available next to the search line expressions. Alternatively where searches are e-mailed to yourself or other recipients, the tabulated version of the search carries a date stamp in the top right-hand corner. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 49.
When finally submitted, searches in the HTA dossier must be no more than 3 months old. To help with respect to limiting searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days, see the OvidGO! / Focused Search Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching) – Ovid MEDLINE,
Search strategies, regardless of size, can be set up to run as automated searches using Ovid’s AutoAlert functionality. This monitoring possibility is also important for the HTA dossier as the regulator also expects the HTD to anticipate forthcoming information.
The references included in the points listed above will help you access the features and the functionality important for your work. However, if you would like a one-on-one coaching session with an Ovid trainer to review these features and how to best use them, or for instance, save your searches systematically in My Workspace or set up an AutoAlert, please request an Ovid Coaching session.
(*) Reviewer's Note: This is an updated, or in some cases, a completely revised version of a search filter formerly available on the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal. All such search filters are marked with the asterisk character placed at the end of the long title. If you have any questions relating to the migration of this search filter between the two portals, please contact us directly via [email protected] .
Primary: Michael Fanning
Secondary: Yvonne van de Vrede
Review Date: 2025-08-14
Expiry Date: 2026-08-14
Ovid Training Team
HTA Legislation – European Union
Ref. 1: EU HTA Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on health technology assessment and amending Directive 2011/24/EU (Text with EEA relevance)
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2282/oj
Ref. 2: EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1381 of 23 May 2024 laying down, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on health technology assessment, procedural rules for the interaction during, exchange of information on, and participation in, the preparation and update of joint clinical assessments of medicinal products for human use at Union level, as well as templates for those joint clinical assessments
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1381/oj
Search Filter Repository – United Kingdom
United Kingdom – Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
https://www.sign.ac.uk/
United Kingdom – SIGN Search filters
https://www.sign.ac.uk/using-our-guidelines/methodology/search-filters/
Ovid Training
How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching
EMEA Webinar Series - 27th July 2023
OvidGO! / Focused Searches
Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching) – Ovid MEDLINE
How to limit searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days.
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=64
OvidGO! / Skills Videos
What is Ovid MEDLINE?
How to interpret Ovid MEDLINE segments
How to search with subject headings on Ovid
How to search with keywords on Ovid
How to use database limits on Ovid
How to apply date range searches in Ovid MEDLINE
Economics/
"costs and cost analysis"/
Cost allocation/
Cost-benefit analysis/
Cost control/
Cost savings/
Cost of illness/
Cost sharing/
"deductibles and coinsurance"/
Medical savings accounts/
Health care costs/
Direct service costs/
Drug costs/
Employer health costs/
Hospital costs/
Health expenditures/
Capital expenditures/
Value of life/
Exp economics, hospital/
Exp economics, medical/
Economics, nursing/
Economics, pharmaceutical/
Exp "fees and charges"/
Exp budgets/
(low adj cost).mp.
(high adj cost).mp.
(health?care adj cost$).mp.
(fiscal or funding or financial or finance).tw.
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
(economic$ or pharmacoeconomic$ or price$ or pricing).tw.
Or/1-32
Database: Ovid MEDLINE ALL <1946 to Present>
How to use an economics evaluation search filter, designed for Ovid MEDLINE, in the context of HTA dossier construction. (*)
Many of the searches on OvidGO! / Focused Searches employ the PICO approach, where P stands for population or patient group, I for intervention, C for a comparator and O for outcome or outcomes, to search systematically for studies relating to the efficacy or otherwise, of a specified medical intervention. Such interventions or medicinal products, can be drug-based, device-based, a mixture of both as well as public health policy related interventions.
Generally speaking, for such medicinal products to be approved by the national healthcare system; in terms of safe use, value for money and hence funding, the medicinal product in question usually undergoes a health technology assessment (HTA). The overall responsibility of national healthcare authorities, an HTA for a medicinal product submitted by a Health Technology Developer (HTD) is carried out by mandated public authorities, referred to as Health Technology Agencies or by organisations appointed by them or the national healthcare authority.
Across countries and regions, the provision of healthcare, its means of funding, the pertinent legal and regulatory frameworks that embrace it, as well as the ethical and social norms that percolate through it, all differ widely. This has practical consequences for the cross-border sharing of scientific and clinical information that produced for medicinal products in one country, may be beneficial to patients in another.
Over the past two decades the European Union has sought to address this problem through regulatory initiatives. The resulting legislative acts, enacted some years back, now apply from 12th January 2025. The 2021 EU HTA Regulation (HTAR) (see References below, Ref. 1) constitutes a major milestone. The HTAR establishes a regulatory framework throughout the European Economic Area (EER) whereby local Member State national healthcare authorities are still the primary authority over HTA decision making, but that certain (and key) sources of evidence can be shared.
These key sources of evidence are the joint clinical assessment (JCA) and the joint scientific consultation (JSC). This has the practical effect that for example, a drug therapy being assessed for deployment in Germany, can be run through the German AMNOG assessment system but also draw upon clinical evaluation studies from France or Italy etc.. And even the UK and USA where relevant. The latter also possible because the legislation sees the sharing of information not only across the EEA, but also through the observation of established evidence acquisition and synthesis principles and best practice, in alignment with Australia, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Of note for this Focused Search is Article 2 (5) HTAR which defines health technology assessment in the following terms,
"‘health technology assessment’ or ‘HTA’ means a multidisciplinary process that summarises information about the medical, patient and social aspects and the economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, transparent, unbiased and robust manner;"
Subsequent legislation, the 2024 EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act (see References below, Ref. 2) provides practical details regarding the construction of a dossier for the joint clinical assessment of a medicinal product. The HTA dossier is the principle information package a Health Technology Developer (HTD) needs to submit to their relevant Health Technology Agency. Specifically, Annex I of the above act provides a template for the dossier of the joint clinical assessment of a medical product. Section 4.2 of this Annex I covers information retrieval and selection of relevant studies. With respect to bibliographic databases that should be consulted, specific mention is made of Medline and the Cochrane Database of Controlled Trials. The Annex also provides details of how searches need to be documented, date stamped, run on a regular basis and no more than 3 months old from the date of submitting the HTA dossier.
This Focused Search is composed of two parts.
Part 1 will show you how Ovid can help you run a tried and tested economic evaluation search filter on Ovid MEDLINE. This covers in part the economic side of the multidisciplinary approach to constructing an HTA dossier. Part 2 on the other hand, will show you how this search filter (and with that, search strategies generally) can be efficiently integrated into your dossier construction workflow where the following are concerned,
Part 1 – The Economic Evaluations Search Filter
The search filter for economic evaluations in this Focused Search is from SIGN. A UK public body, SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). In its role as a producer of evidence-based guidelines for healthcare institutions and professionals in Scotland, SIGN has developed a selection of A&I database search filters to locate systematic reviews, RCTs, studies by type, e.g. observational, diagnostic and economic, as well as for patient issues. The search filters are not validated in a strict sense. Developed in-house they are all nevertheless tried and tested and are regularly used by SIGN in their evidence-gathering activities. Where the filters have leant towards other sources, e.g. Cochrane or CRD, this is stated in a preface to the search filter.
The Original SIGN Search
The original SIGN search filter designed to retrieve economic studies and operate on the Ovid platform on a line-by-line basis is as given below.
Economics/
"costs and cost analysis"/
Cost allocation/
Cost-benefit analysis/
Cost control/
Cost savings/
Cost of illness/
Cost sharing/
"deductibles and coinsurance"/
Medical savings accounts/
Health care costs/
Direct service costs/
Drug costs/
Employer health costs/
Hospital costs/
Health expenditures/
Capital expenditures/
Value of life/
Exp economics, hospital/
Exp economics, medical/
Economics, nursing/
Economics, pharmaceutical/
Exp "fees and charges"/
Exp budgets/
(low adj cost).mp.
(high adj cost).mp.
(health?care adj cost$).mp.
(fiscal or funding or financial or finance).tw.
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
(economic$ or pharmacoeconomic$ or price$ or pricing).tw.
Or/1-32The Search Filter Amended for Use on Ovid
This version of the search filter, as given below, has been compacted to the ‘paragraph format’ which runs in Ovid as a single line.
Economics/ OR "costs and cost analysis"/ OR Cost allocation/ OR Cost-benefit analysis/ OR Cost control/ OR Cost savings/ OR Cost of illness/ OR Cost sharing/ OR "deductibles and coinsurance"/ OR Medical savings accounts/ OR Health care costs/ OR Direct service costs/ OR Drug costs/ OR Employer health costs/ OR Hospital costs/ OR Health expenditures/ OR Capital expenditures/ OR Value of life/ OR Exp economics, hospital/ OR Exp economics, medical/ OR Economics, nursing/ OR Economics, pharmaceutical/ OR Exp "fees and charges"/ OR Exp budgets/ OR (low adj cost).mp. OR (high adj cost).mp. OR (health?care adj cost$).mp. OR (fiscal or funding or financial or finance).tw. OR (cost adj estimate$).mp. OR (cost adj variable).mp. OR (unit adj cost$).mp. OR (economic$ or pharmacoeconomic$ or price$ or pricing).tw.It can be copied and pasted into the Ovid Advanced Search command box or run directly in Ovid using the following < jumpstart link >.
Part 2 – Workflow Integration
Constructing the HTA dossier is an involved undertaking. Between the initial dossier and its final submission, there may be numerous iterations of it. This implies numerous renditions of search strategies, be they for economic studies or for the PICO based searches around the medicinal product, being the object of the submission. Ovid features and functionality can help you optimise your workflow to accommodate this dynamism. For example,
On Ovid the Share Search History box offers three options to easily and efficiently share search histories. In the section References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slides 47 to 51.
The Ovid platform provides various means of documenting search strategies. Internal tools such as Share Search History options, discussed above, allow you to easily share and document search strategies. In My Workspace, search strategies can also be stored, re-run and annotated to accommodate versioning. External tools, such as the Ovid Search History Launcher, available via the Ovid Tools and Resources Portal facilitates moving search strategies between Ovid and your document processing environments. For example, moving searches in and out of MS Word. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 47.
Time stamps can be added to searches inline in the form of annotations by using the Actions / More / Edit feature available next to the search line expressions. Alternatively where searches are e-mailed to yourself or other recipients, the tabulated version of the search carries a date stamp in the top right-hand corner. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 49.
When finally submitted, searches in the HTA dossier must be no more than 3 months old. To help with respect to limiting searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days, see the OvidGO! / Focused Search Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching) – Ovid MEDLINE,
Search strategies, regardless of size, can be set up to run as automated searches using Ovid’s AutoAlert functionality. This monitoring possibility is also important for the HTA dossier as the regulator also expects the HTD to anticipate forthcoming information.
The references included in the points listed above will help you access the features and the functionality important for your work. However, if you would like a one-on-one coaching session with an Ovid trainer to review these features and how to best use them, or for instance, save your searches systematically in My Workspace or set up an AutoAlert, please request an Ovid Coaching session.
(*) Reviewer's Note: This is an updated, or in some cases, a completely revised version of a search filter formerly available on the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal. All such search filters are marked with the asterisk character placed at the end of the long title. If you have any questions relating to the migration of this search filter between the two portals, please contact us directly via [email protected] .
Economics/
"costs and cost analysis"/
Cost allocation/
Cost-benefit analysis/
Cost control/
Cost savings/
Cost of illness/
Cost sharing/
"deductibles and coinsurance"/
Medical savings accounts/
Health care costs/
Direct service costs/
Drug costs/
Employer health costs/
Hospital costs/
Health expenditures/
Capital expenditures/
Value of life/
Exp economics, hospital/
Exp economics, medical/
Economics, nursing/
Economics, pharmaceutical/
Exp "fees and charges"/
Exp budgets/
(low adj cost).mp.
(high adj cost).mp.
(health?care adj cost$).mp.
(fiscal or funding or financial or finance).tw.
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
(economic$ or pharmacoeconomic$ or price$ or pricing).tw.
Or/1-32
Primary: Michael Fanning
Secondary: Yvonne van de Vrede
Review Date: 2025-08-14
Expiry Date: 2026-08-14
Ovid Training Team
HTA Legislation – European Union
Ref. 1: EU HTA Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on health technology assessment and amending Directive 2011/24/EU (Text with EEA relevance)
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2282/oj
Ref. 2: EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1381 of 23 May 2024 laying down, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on health technology assessment, procedural rules for the interaction during, exchange of information on, and participation in, the preparation and update of joint clinical assessments of medicinal products for human use at Union level, as well as templates for those joint clinical assessments
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1381/oj
Search Filter Repository – United Kingdom
United Kingdom – Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
https://www.sign.ac.uk/
United Kingdom – SIGN Search filters
https://www.sign.ac.uk/using-our-guidelines/methodology/search-filters/
Ovid Training
How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching
EMEA Webinar Series - 27th July 2023
OvidGO! / Focused Searches
Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching) – Ovid MEDLINE
How to limit searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days.
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=64
OvidGO! / Skills Videos
What is Ovid MEDLINE?
How to interpret Ovid MEDLINE segments
How to search with subject headings on Ovid
How to search with keywords on Ovid
How to use database limits on Ovid
How to apply date range searches in Ovid MEDLINE
Version: 2025-08-14
Visited:
OvidGo! - Wolters Kluwer - Health Learning, Research and Practice
OvidGO! Portal. Focused Searches: Economic Evaluations - Ovid MEDLINE [Internet]. London (UK): Ovid Training Team (Editors); 2025 [updated 15 August 2025; cited 20 August 2025]. Available from: https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=136
Version: 2025-08-14
Visited:
How to use an economics evaluation search filter, designed for Embase on Ovid, in the context of HTA dossier construction. (*)
Embase on Ovid <1974 to Present>
Ovid Training Team
2025-08-14
Search Filters
Many of the searches on OvidGO! / Focused Searches employ the PICO approach, where P stands for population or patient group, I for intervention, C for a comparator and O for outcome or outcomes, to search systematically for studies relating to the efficacy or otherwise, of a specified medical intervention. Such interventions or medicinal products, can be drug-based, device-based, a mixture of both as well as public health policy related interventions.
Generally speaking, for such medicinal products to be approved by the national healthcare system; in terms of safe use, value for money and hence funding, the medicinal product in question usually undergoes a health technology assessment (HTA). The overall responsibility of national healthcare authorities, an HTA for a medicinal product submitted by a Health Technology Developer (HTD) is carried out by mandated public authorities, referred to as Health Technology Agencies or by organisations appointed by them or the national healthcare authority.
Across countries and regions, the provision of healthcare, its means of funding, the pertinent legal and regulatory frameworks that embrace it, as well as the ethical and social norms that percolate through it, all differ widely. This has practical consequences for the cross-border sharing of scientific and clinical information that produced for medicinal products in one country, may be beneficial to patients in another.
Over the past two decades the European Union has sought to address this problem through regulatory initiatives. The resulting legislative acts, enacted some years back, now apply from 12th January 2025. The 2021 EU HTA Regulation (HTAR) (see References below, Ref. 1) constitutes a major milestone. The HTAR establishes a regulatory framework throughout the European Economic Area (EER) whereby local Member State national healthcare authorities are still the primary authority over HTA decision making, but that certain (and key) sources of evidence can be shared.
These key sources of evidence are the joint clinical assessment (JCA) and the joint scientific consultation (JSC). This has the practical effect that for example, a drug therapy being assessed for deployment in Germany, can be run through the German AMNOG assessment system but also draw upon clinical evaluation studies from France or Italy etc.. And even the UK and USA where relevant. The latter also possible because the legislation sees the sharing of information not only across the EEA, but also through the observation of established evidence acquisition and synthesis principles and best practice, in alignment with Australia, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Of note for this Focused Search is Article 2 (5) HTAR which defines health technology assessment in the following terms,
"‘health technology assessment’ or ‘HTA’ means a multidisciplinary process that summarises information about the medical, patient and social aspects and the economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, transparent, unbiased and robust manner;"
Subsequent legislation, the 2024 EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act (see References below, Ref. 2) provides practical details regarding the construction of a dossier for the joint clinical assessment of a medicinal product. The HTA dossier is the principle information package a Health Technology Developer (HTD) needs to submit to their relevant Health Technology Agency. Specifically, Annex I of the above act provides a template for the dossier of the joint clinical assessment of a medical product. Section 4.2 of this Annex I covers information retrieval and selection of relevant studies. With respect to bibliographic databases that should be consulted, specific mention is made of Medline and the Cochrane Database of Controlled Trials. The Annex also provides details of how searches need to be documented, date stamped, run on a regular basis and no more than 3 months old from the date of submitting the HTA dossier.
This Focused Search is composed of two parts.
Part 1 will show you how Ovid can help you run a tried and tested economic evaluation search filter on Embase on Ovid. This covers in part the economic side of the multidisciplinary approach to constructing an HTA dossier. Part 2 on the other hand, will show you how this search filter (and with that, search strategies generally) can be efficiently integrated into your dossier construction workflow where the following are concerned,
Part 1 – The Economic Evaluations Search Filter
The search filter for economic evaluations in this Focused Search is from SIGN. A UK public body, SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). In its role as a producer of evidence-based guidelines for healthcare institutions and professionals in Scotland, SIGN has developed a selection of A&I database search filters to locate systematic reviews, RCTs, studies by type, e.g. observational, diagnostic and economic, as well as for patient issues. The search filters are not validated in a strict sense. Developed in-house they are all nevertheless tried and tested and are regularly used by SIGN in their evidence-gathering activities. Where the filters have leant towards other sources, e.g. Cochrane or CRD, this is stated in a preface to the search filter.
The Original SIGN Search
The original SIGN search filter designed to retrieve economic studies and operate on the Ovid platform on a line-by-line basis is as given below.
Socioeconomics/
Cost benefit analysis/
Cost effectiveness analysis/
Cost of illness/
Cost control/
Economic aspect/
Financial management/
Health care cost/
Health care financing/
Health economics/
Hospital cost/
(fiscal or financial or finance or funding).tw.
Cost minimization analysis/
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable$).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
Or/1-16The Search Filter Amended for Use on Ovid
This version of the search filter, as given below, has been compacted to the ‘paragraph format’ which runs in Ovid as a single line.
Socioeconomics/ OR Cost benefit analysis/ OR Cost effectiveness analysis/ OR Cost of illness/ OR Cost control/ OR Economic aspect/ OR Financial management/ OR Health care cost/ OR Health care financing/ OR Health economics/ OR Hospital cost/ OR (fiscal or financial or finance or funding).tw. OR Cost minimization analysis/ OR (cost adj estimate$).mp. OR (cost adj variable$).mp. OR (unit adj cost$).mp.It can be copied and pasted into the Ovid Advanced Search command box or run directly in Ovid using the following < jumpstart link >.
Part 2 – Workflow Integration
Constructing the HTA dossier is an involved undertaking. Between the initial dossier and its final submission, there may be numerous iterations of it. This implies numerous renditions of search strategies, be they for economic studies or for the PICO based searches around the medicinal product, being the object of the submission. Ovid features and functionality can help you optimise your workflow to accommodate this dynamism. For example,
On Ovid the Share Search History box offers three options to easily and efficiently share search histories. In the section References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slides 47 to 51.
The Ovid platform provides various means of documenting search strategies. Internal tools such as Share Search History options, discussed above, allow you to easily share and document search strategies. In My Workspace, search strategies can also be stored, re-run and annotated to accommodate versioning. External tools, such as the Ovid Search History Launcher, available via the Ovid Tools and Resources Portal facilitates moving search strategies between Ovid and your document processing environments. For example, moving searches in and out of MS Word. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 47.
Time stamps can be added to searches inline in the form of annotations by using the Actions / More / Edit feature available next to the search line expressions. Alternatively where searches are e-mailed to yourself or other recipients, the tabulated version of the search carries a date stamp in the top right-hand corner. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 49.
When finally submitted, searches in the HTA dossier must be no more than 3 months old. To help with respect to limiting searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days, see the OvidGO! / Focused Search Embase on Ovid – Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching).
Search strategies, regardless of size, can be set up to run as automated searches using Ovid’s AutoAlert functionality. This monitoring possibility is also important for the HTA dossier as the regulator also expects the HTD to anticipate forthcoming information.
The references included in the points listed above will help you access the features and the functionality important for your work. However, if you would like a one-on-one coaching session with an Ovid trainer to review these features and how to best use them, or for instance, save your searches systematically in My Workspace or set up an AutoAlert, please request an Ovid Coaching session.
(*) Reviewer's Note: This is an updated, or in some cases, a completely revised version of a search filter formerly available on the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal. All such search filters are marked with the asterisk character placed at the end of the long title. If you have any questions relating to the migration of this search filter between the two portals, please contact us directly via [email protected] .
Primary: Michael Fanning
Secondary: Yvonne van de Vrede
Review Date: 2025-08-14
Expiry Date: 2026-08-14
Ovid Training Team
HTA Legislation – European Union
Ref. 1: EU HTA Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on health technology assessment and amending Directive 2011/24/EU (Text with EEA relevance)
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2282/oj
Ref. 2: EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1381 of 23 May 2024 laying down, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on health technology assessment, procedural rules for the interaction during, exchange of information on, and participation in, the preparation and update of joint clinical assessments of medicinal products for human use at Union level, as well as templates for those joint clinical assessments
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1381/oj
Search Filter Repository – United Kingdom
United Kingdom – Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
https://www.sign.ac.uk/
United Kingdom – SIGN Search filters
https://www.sign.ac.uk/using-our-guidelines/methodology/search-filters/
Ovid Training
How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching
EMEA Webinar Series - 27th July 2023
OvidGO! / Focused Searches
Embase on Ovid – Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching)
How to limit searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days.
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=107
OvidGO! / Skills Videos
What is Embase?
How to interpret the Embase vs MEDLINE relationship (I)
How to interpret the Embase vs MEDLINE relationship (II)
How to interpret the Embase vs MEDLINE relationship (III)
How to use drug indexing in Embase
What is Emtree?
How to apply date range searches in Embase
Socioeconomics/
Cost benefit analysis/
Cost effectiveness analysis/
Cost of illness/
Cost control/
Economic aspect/
Financial management/
Health care cost/
Health care financing/
Health economics/
Hospital cost/
(fiscal or financial or finance or funding).tw.
Cost minimization analysis/
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable$).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
Or/1-16
Database: Embase on Ovid <1974 to Present>
How to use an economics evaluation search filter, designed for Embase on Ovid, in the context of HTA dossier construction. (*)
Many of the searches on OvidGO! / Focused Searches employ the PICO approach, where P stands for population or patient group, I for intervention, C for a comparator and O for outcome or outcomes, to search systematically for studies relating to the efficacy or otherwise, of a specified medical intervention. Such interventions or medicinal products, can be drug-based, device-based, a mixture of both as well as public health policy related interventions.
Generally speaking, for such medicinal products to be approved by the national healthcare system; in terms of safe use, value for money and hence funding, the medicinal product in question usually undergoes a health technology assessment (HTA). The overall responsibility of national healthcare authorities, an HTA for a medicinal product submitted by a Health Technology Developer (HTD) is carried out by mandated public authorities, referred to as Health Technology Agencies or by organisations appointed by them or the national healthcare authority.
Across countries and regions, the provision of healthcare, its means of funding, the pertinent legal and regulatory frameworks that embrace it, as well as the ethical and social norms that percolate through it, all differ widely. This has practical consequences for the cross-border sharing of scientific and clinical information that produced for medicinal products in one country, may be beneficial to patients in another.
Over the past two decades the European Union has sought to address this problem through regulatory initiatives. The resulting legislative acts, enacted some years back, now apply from 12th January 2025. The 2021 EU HTA Regulation (HTAR) (see References below, Ref. 1) constitutes a major milestone. The HTAR establishes a regulatory framework throughout the European Economic Area (EER) whereby local Member State national healthcare authorities are still the primary authority over HTA decision making, but that certain (and key) sources of evidence can be shared.
These key sources of evidence are the joint clinical assessment (JCA) and the joint scientific consultation (JSC). This has the practical effect that for example, a drug therapy being assessed for deployment in Germany, can be run through the German AMNOG assessment system but also draw upon clinical evaluation studies from France or Italy etc.. And even the UK and USA where relevant. The latter also possible because the legislation sees the sharing of information not only across the EEA, but also through the observation of established evidence acquisition and synthesis principles and best practice, in alignment with Australia, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Of note for this Focused Search is Article 2 (5) HTAR which defines health technology assessment in the following terms,
"‘health technology assessment’ or ‘HTA’ means a multidisciplinary process that summarises information about the medical, patient and social aspects and the economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology in a systematic, transparent, unbiased and robust manner;"
Subsequent legislation, the 2024 EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act (see References below, Ref. 2) provides practical details regarding the construction of a dossier for the joint clinical assessment of a medicinal product. The HTA dossier is the principle information package a Health Technology Developer (HTD) needs to submit to their relevant Health Technology Agency. Specifically, Annex I of the above act provides a template for the dossier of the joint clinical assessment of a medical product. Section 4.2 of this Annex I covers information retrieval and selection of relevant studies. With respect to bibliographic databases that should be consulted, specific mention is made of Medline and the Cochrane Database of Controlled Trials. The Annex also provides details of how searches need to be documented, date stamped, run on a regular basis and no more than 3 months old from the date of submitting the HTA dossier.
This Focused Search is composed of two parts.
Part 1 will show you how Ovid can help you run a tried and tested economic evaluation search filter on Embase on Ovid. This covers in part the economic side of the multidisciplinary approach to constructing an HTA dossier. Part 2 on the other hand, will show you how this search filter (and with that, search strategies generally) can be efficiently integrated into your dossier construction workflow where the following are concerned,
Part 1 – The Economic Evaluations Search Filter
The search filter for economic evaluations in this Focused Search is from SIGN. A UK public body, SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). In its role as a producer of evidence-based guidelines for healthcare institutions and professionals in Scotland, SIGN has developed a selection of A&I database search filters to locate systematic reviews, RCTs, studies by type, e.g. observational, diagnostic and economic, as well as for patient issues. The search filters are not validated in a strict sense. Developed in-house they are all nevertheless tried and tested and are regularly used by SIGN in their evidence-gathering activities. Where the filters have leant towards other sources, e.g. Cochrane or CRD, this is stated in a preface to the search filter.
The Original SIGN Search
The original SIGN search filter designed to retrieve economic studies and operate on the Ovid platform on a line-by-line basis is as given below.
Socioeconomics/
Cost benefit analysis/
Cost effectiveness analysis/
Cost of illness/
Cost control/
Economic aspect/
Financial management/
Health care cost/
Health care financing/
Health economics/
Hospital cost/
(fiscal or financial or finance or funding).tw.
Cost minimization analysis/
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable$).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
Or/1-16The Search Filter Amended for Use on Ovid
This version of the search filter, as given below, has been compacted to the ‘paragraph format’ which runs in Ovid as a single line.
Socioeconomics/ OR Cost benefit analysis/ OR Cost effectiveness analysis/ OR Cost of illness/ OR Cost control/ OR Economic aspect/ OR Financial management/ OR Health care cost/ OR Health care financing/ OR Health economics/ OR Hospital cost/ OR (fiscal or financial or finance or funding).tw. OR Cost minimization analysis/ OR (cost adj estimate$).mp. OR (cost adj variable$).mp. OR (unit adj cost$).mp.It can be copied and pasted into the Ovid Advanced Search command box or run directly in Ovid using the following < jumpstart link >.
Part 2 – Workflow Integration
Constructing the HTA dossier is an involved undertaking. Between the initial dossier and its final submission, there may be numerous iterations of it. This implies numerous renditions of search strategies, be they for economic studies or for the PICO based searches around the medicinal product, being the object of the submission. Ovid features and functionality can help you optimise your workflow to accommodate this dynamism. For example,
On Ovid the Share Search History box offers three options to easily and efficiently share search histories. In the section References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slides 47 to 51.
The Ovid platform provides various means of documenting search strategies. Internal tools such as Share Search History options, discussed above, allow you to easily share and document search strategies. In My Workspace, search strategies can also be stored, re-run and annotated to accommodate versioning. External tools, such as the Ovid Search History Launcher, available via the Ovid Tools and Resources Portal facilitates moving search strategies between Ovid and your document processing environments. For example, moving searches in and out of MS Word. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 47.
Time stamps can be added to searches inline in the form of annotations by using the Actions / More / Edit feature available next to the search line expressions. Alternatively where searches are e-mailed to yourself or other recipients, the tabulated version of the search carries a date stamp in the top right-hand corner. In References below, see the webinar presentation, How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching, slide 49.
When finally submitted, searches in the HTA dossier must be no more than 3 months old. To help with respect to limiting searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days, see the OvidGO! / Focused Search Embase on Ovid – Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching).
Search strategies, regardless of size, can be set up to run as automated searches using Ovid’s AutoAlert functionality. This monitoring possibility is also important for the HTA dossier as the regulator also expects the HTD to anticipate forthcoming information.
The references included in the points listed above will help you access the features and the functionality important for your work. However, if you would like a one-on-one coaching session with an Ovid trainer to review these features and how to best use them, or for instance, save your searches systematically in My Workspace or set up an AutoAlert, please request an Ovid Coaching session.
(*) Reviewer's Note: This is an updated, or in some cases, a completely revised version of a search filter formerly available on the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal. All such search filters are marked with the asterisk character placed at the end of the long title. If you have any questions relating to the migration of this search filter between the two portals, please contact us directly via [email protected] .
Socioeconomics/
Cost benefit analysis/
Cost effectiveness analysis/
Cost of illness/
Cost control/
Economic aspect/
Financial management/
Health care cost/
Health care financing/
Health economics/
Hospital cost/
(fiscal or financial or finance or funding).tw.
Cost minimization analysis/
(cost adj estimate$).mp.
(cost adj variable$).mp.
(unit adj cost$).mp.
Or/1-16
Primary: Michael Fanning
Secondary: Yvonne van de Vrede
Review Date: 2025-08-14
Expiry Date: 2026-08-14
Ovid Training Team
HTA Legislation – European Union
Ref. 1: EU HTA Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on health technology assessment and amending Directive 2011/24/EU (Text with EEA relevance)
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2282/oj
Ref. 2: EU HTA Regulation – Implementing Act
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1381 of 23 May 2024 laying down, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on health technology assessment, procedural rules for the interaction during, exchange of information on, and participation in, the preparation and update of joint clinical assessments of medicinal products for human use at Union level, as well as templates for those joint clinical assessments
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1381/oj
Search Filter Repository – United Kingdom
United Kingdom – Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
https://www.sign.ac.uk/
United Kingdom – SIGN Search filters
https://www.sign.ac.uk/using-our-guidelines/methodology/search-filters/
Ovid Training
How to build and share search strategies on Ovid® using concept searching
EMEA Webinar Series - 27th July 2023
OvidGO! / Focused Searches
Embase on Ovid – Limiting Searches To Time Spans (Date Range Searching)
How to limit searches to spans of time from complete years or parts of years to user-defined time frames covering years, weeks or days.
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=107
OvidGO! / Skills Videos
What is Embase?
How to interpret the Embase vs MEDLINE relationship (I)
How to interpret the Embase vs MEDLINE relationship (II)
How to interpret the Embase vs MEDLINE relationship (III)
How to use drug indexing in Embase
What is Emtree?
How to apply date range searches in Embase
Version: 2025-08-14
Visited:
OvidGo! - Wolters Kluwer - Health Learning, Research and Practice
OvidGO! Portal. Focused Searches: Economic Evaluations – Embase on Ovid [Internet]. London (UK): Ovid Training Team (Editors); 2025 [updated 15 August 2025; cited 20 August 2025]. Available from: https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/searches/view.php?id=138
Version: 2025-08-14
Visited:
Ovid Customer Support, Database Size and Shape – Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Expert Searches Portal, Version: 8th May 2023, Visited: 11th May 2023.
An Ovid Coaching session has its agenda driven by you, the participating librarian. Topics covered are ones that you choose.
They may be related to Ovid functionality, search modes, search techniques, Ovid Tools & Resources, learning materials etc..
To register for an Ovid Coaching session please fill in the contact form below. In the Your Comments box let us know what you would like to discuss and when.
An Ovid Trainer will get back to you to confirm details.
Focused Searches on OvidGO! consist of a comprehensive selection of database searches that are easily discoverable, accessible and actionable, that you can run directly on the Ovid platform with a single click. The curated and regularly reviewed portfolio of searches has been selected by the Ovid Training Team from various named and accredited sources. They include search filters, search strategies, search blocks and vary in size and format.
You can use all the searches within Focused Searches as standalone resources or in combination with the other knowledge and educational assets in the training and coaching activity areas which together make up the OvidGO! portal. Portrayed using a standardised ABC approach (see next section) developed by the Ovid Training Team, any Focused Search can also be quickly displayed on screen passively for consultation, comparative reference as well as teaching purposes. Each search has a background section which provides more detail about the search, its origin plus any noteworthy features and characteristics.
Full accreditation is given to the creator of the search as well as a live and actionable reference to the original source. Each search carries an OvidGO! citation and can be embedded in non-Ovid documentation by means of a dedicated and permanent link.
Developed by the Ovid Training Team, the ABC approach, which stands for Action, Background and Citation, represents the standard format for every search on Focused Searches. Regardless of its type, size or origin, the ABC formula provides for each search; a memorable point of access for both an overview of the search, accompanying information as well as a set of options for its use and re-use.
For example, if you want to view the search on your screen, simply select Actions/Display. If on the other hand you want to launch the search so that it runs and displays in Ovid, select Actions/Display. Once in Ovid, you could use the executed search in the development of your search strategy, save it in My Workspace or share it with colleagues.
Further options under the Actions tab include:
Selecting the Background tab will provide you with information on the search. These details include:
Selecting the Citation tab will display an OvidGO! citation for the search on Ovid and accompanying materials as displayed in Focused Searches. The current citation format is Vancouver.
The searches on Ovid, presented using our ABC format, can be used in a number of ways. These depend, of course, on what your objective is. They could include searching for literature systematically or getting to know an unfamiliar database or even for teaching database use to others.
For example, if you are building a search strategy which requires locating randomised controlled trials, you might want to select Actions/Launch for the Cochrane RCT Search Filter I and directly include it in your search strategy. Equally you might want to save it as a search block in My Workspace for later review, use or even sharing.
Alternatively, were you to be unfamiliar with, say APA PsycInfo, you could select Actions/Display for the Covid and Mental Health - APA PsycInfo search to see how comfortable you are with that database’s use of terms and phrases for the subject matter.
In terms of teaching scenarios, you could refer to the Search History Analysis Example search, where the Background tab provides information on how to use a search history and its systematic deconstruction to help users better understand how and why such searches are built in the way that they are.
If you need our assistance on any of the Focused Searches use cases mentioned above, simply select Actions/Ovid Coaching for the search that interests you.
Every search on Focused Searches is inspected by at least two members of the Ovid Training Team. Inspection involves two activities. First, ensuring that the search as captured and displayed in OvidGO! Focused Searches is a true and accurate version of the original (which often has had to be extracted and/or rebuilt from its original source, commonly a paper- and/or PDF-based publication). Second, that the search runs on Ovid in the selected database and using the syntax as employed by the original creator of the search.
The Ovid Training Team reviewers do not alter or make changes to the content of the original work. Where ambiguities or questions may arise, these are discussed with the original creator of the search for clarification and author-approved remedial action if necessary. Details of any such request for clarification may also be reported on in the Background information where relevant and appropriate.
In the case of search filter type searches included in Focused Searches, if the original author of the search has validated the search, this information is included in the Background information. The Ovid Training Team does not undertake any search validation independently of the creator of the original search. Again, it's worth iterating here that the objective of OvidGO!’s Focused Searches is to bring useful, instructive and highly regarded searches, already published or issued, closer to a user-level surface for greater exposure and positive consumption.
Currently, the searches on Focused Searches will be reviewed annually for relevancy and usage.
Yes. Focused Searches on OvidGO! can now be accessed directly from the newly revised version of the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal under the section entitled Ovid Tools & Resources. The OvidGO! / Focused Searches have replaced what had been referred to as ‘Expert Searches‘ on the previous version of the Ovid Tools & Resources Portal.
Prior to their replacement the Expert Searches were reviewed and assessed for their possible subsequent inclusion into OvidGO!’s collection of Focused Searches. The selection criteria have been influenced by the former Expert Searches’ continued accuracy, relevance and topicality. A proportion of them, or their functional equivalents, have already been migrated to Focused Searches on OvidGO! and re-structured and re-issued in accordance with the ABC approach as discussed above.
If you, your users or your institution have preferred searches that were formerly part of the Expert Searches collection and you do not see them or an equivalent version in OvidGO!’s / Focused Searches, and would like to have them included in Focused Searches on OvidGO!’, please contact us directly via [email protected].
Yes! We would very much like to hear from you. Ideally, recommended searches should be of benefit to a large number of Ovid users. They can nevertheless vary in terms of what they have been designed to achieve. They could be searches that add a more elegant set of lines to a systematic literature search. Or a set of controlled terms that work well across databases with (very) different controlled vocabularies. Or searches that best demonstrate an approach to database usage.
If you have a search that you would like to recommend, please let us know.
The Focused Searches on OvidGO! editors, Michael Fanning and Charlotte Viken, are contactable via their respective e-mail addresses or alternatively via [email protected] .