Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Economic evaluations and health technology assessments (HTA) play a pivotal role in the adoption and reimbursement of novel health technologies. However, even when conducted under the most optimal conditions, decision makers may lack information regarding the real-world effectiveness, utilization and cost-effectiveness of the new health technologies they are evaluating. A health technology reassessment (HTR) is a novel approach which recognizes that certain degrees of uncertainty may have been present when the initial HTA was conducted and that real-world utilization, effectiveness and costing data may address this uncertainty. HTR may therefore reduce the level of uncertainty present regarding key points of the economic evaluation and may identify discrepancies between the predicted and actual use of adopted technologies within a jurisdiction. The information which is acquired within the HTR can then be conveyed to decision makers in order to optimize the future use of the re-examined health technologies. Despite the great value of HTR, its use remains relatively limited due to its relatively novel nature and the added methodological complexity associated with this approach. My research program focuses on two intertwined components of the HTR process: 1) a methodological component aimed at reducing the risk of bias, mainly confounding bias, when using observational data within an HTR and 2) an applied component aimed at optimizing the interpretation and dissemination of results obtained within an HTR. By combining both components, my research program will more clearly identify how to address issues present when conducting an HTR and will improve the overall quality of future HTR with the ultimate goal of optimizing resource utilization within the Canadian healthcare system.