About Health Technology Assessments

CADTH Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) support and inform effective, evidence-based decisions about health policy and purchasing, service management, and clinical practice. Selected topics are of national interest to the publicly funded health care system.

CADTH Technology Reports are comprehensive assessments of health care technologies, including drugs, devices, systems, and services. These reports usually examine more mature technologies for which there is a larger and higher quality body of evidence available. The technologies’ clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and broader impact on both patient health and the health care system are examined. This may include information on the social, ethical, and economic implications of their uses compared with alternative treatments, and information on patient indications, current treatment practices, regulatory issues, adverse effects, and health services impact.

Health Technology Assessments: Process

• Once a health technology assessment topic has been selected, the specific research questions are defined.
• A multidisciplinary team of researchers is formed, based on the nature of the project, and may include internal and/or external researchers with expertise in medicine, clinical care, pharmacology, life sciences, epidemiology, health economics, and bioethics. The team also includes research assistants, information specialists, and knowledge exchange specialists.
• A protocol is established for the assessment, describing the strategy to identify and select clinical and economic information, and how this information will be quality-rated, abstracted, and synthesized. The protocol may also describe how a primary economic evaluation or survey will be conducted.
• Data from research studies and other scientific sources are systematically gathered, analyzed, and interpreted by the review team. Well-defined and transparent processes are used to minimize potential bias.
• The findings are summarized in reports that translate the scientific data into information relevant to decision-making.
• The reports are peer-reviewed by external clinical, economic, and methodological experts, and internal staff. 
• The project team addresses all reviewer comments, and modifies the reports as necessary.
• The findings are disseminated via the CADTH website and according to the knowledge exchange strategy specific to the project.