Canada's First Top 10 Watch List of Game-Changing Health Technologies Released
OTTAWA, April 7, 2014 /CNW/ - Three new cancer drug treatments, five medical devices, and two medical procedures have been selected as Canada's top 10 new and emerging health technologies by a blue-ribbon panel of experts. The first Top 10 New and Emerging Health Technology Watch List will be publicly released at the 2014 CADTH Symposium on April 7th.
Over the past year, the Canadian Network for Environmental Scanning in Health (CNESH) has been working to identify which technologies hold the greatest promise to improve the lives of patients and transform the delivery of health care. The Network's selections include a broad range of medical innovations including the replacement of stainless steel with copper in intensive care settings, biologic medicines, stents to treat heart conditions, retinal implants, and a treatment for children with chronic ear infections.
"Every day, there is more and more health innovation coming to market, and making decisions about whether to invest in these new technologies is fraught with challenges and uncertainty," says Professor Ron Goeree, Chair of CNESH and Director of the Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute at McMaster University. "By looking closely at the evidence and creating the Top 10 Watch List, we hope to identify potential game changers and help health care decision-makers plan for the future."
The term "health technologies" refers to medical and dental devices, diagnostic tests, and medical, surgical, or dental procedures, as well as drugs — anything that can be described as a "health intervention." Starting with over 75 submissions it received from across Canada and around the world, the CNESH panel of experts assessed each submission's potential impact on clinical effectiveness, patient survival, quality of life, patient safety, or costs to the health care system.
The Top 10 New and Emerging Health Technology Watch List: 2014
- Antimicrobial copper surfaces to reduce hospital-acquired infections in intensive care settings
- Ex vivo lung perfusion device to preserve and assess donor lungs prior to transplant
- Ipilimumab for unresectable or metastatic melanoma
- Mitral valve clip for degenerative mitral regurgitation
- Obinutuzumab (plus chlorambucil) for newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) device to prevent cardiac ischemia and infarction in patients undergoing cardiac surgery
- Retinal implant to improve vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa
- Self-expanding, drug-coated stent for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease
- Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
- Tympanostomy tube insertion delivery system for children with chronic ear infections
A backgrounder on each of these technologies can be found here. Each of the 10 summaries features key facts about the new technology, potential advantages, how it could change current practice, and who might benefit.
About CNESH
The CNESH panel includes clinicians, researchers, and health technology assessment experts who work closely with senior decision-makers throughout the Canadian health care system. CADTH serves as the secretariat for CNESH. The full membership of CNESH can be found here.
CNESH was established in 2011. Its primary purpose is to identify and share information on new and emerging health technologies, an activity known as horizon scanning. This information can be used to support health care decision-making and prioritize further research. It may also help to facilitate the appropriate adoption and use of effective and safe health technologies.
SOURCE: Hill and Knowlton Strategies
for CNESH Watch List: David Rodier, Hill + Knowlton, Tel: 613-786-9945, [email protected]
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