Healthcare reform through appropriate care is a current focus for many jurisdictions. A variety of policy options, or “levers,” are available to decision makers to influence appropriate care. However, these levers are not always identified in advance of developing policy recommendations, and few direct, empirical analyses are available to support their selection. An appropriate care policy lever inventory was developed for health technology assessment (HTA) users in Alberta, Canada, to support HTA scoping and policy development.

Relevant information was identified by a single reviewer through a scoping search of MEDLINE, forward and backward searching, and targeted gray literature searches. An Excel-based inventory was populated with a list of policy levers and their descriptions, policy effectiveness, and implementation considerations. Filters were developed to identify levers based on key characteristics. The inventory was iteratively refined through presentations to and feedback from key user groups.

The inventory contained 53 policy levers aiming to influence service provision, clinician behavior, fiscal policies, populations or organizations, and patient behavior. The levers varied in how they restrict decision-making. Few levers were considered high impact (>5% change to behavior, utilization, or cost) or well-supported (>10 studies reporting effectiveness). Stakeholders found the inventory information useful, particularly for considering potential levers not frequently utilized within their respective programs. A user guide and case examples were also developed to help users learn to navigate the inventory.

An inventory of policy levers, which can be tailored to specific clinical areas and topics, can be of assistance to healthcare decision makers developing and utilizing HTAs to improve appropriateness of care. With limited indication-specific evidence, policy makers must utilize the broader evidence base on appropriate care policy levers to select and implement strategies that are applicable and transferable to their context. Challenges remain in systematically identifying all relevant literature given the inventory’s breadth, and in updating the inventory to reflect new evidence.