Patient Input

Context

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) launched a new element to its Common Drug Review (CDR) process effective May 2010 — patient group input. This initiative ensures that patient input identifying health outcomes and issues important to patients is incorporated into the CDR process in a formal and meaningful way.  

The CDR conducts objective, rigorous reviews of the safety and effectiveness of drugs and their cost-effectiveness (value for money) compared to other available therapy. These reviews are used by the Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee (CEDAC), a CADTH advisory body, to make formulary listing recommendations to Canadian public drug plans (except Quebec). 

How to Know When to Submit Patient Group Input to CDR

CDR reviews new drugs and drugs with new indications submitted by pharmaceutical manufacturers or the participating drug plans. Pending and received submissions are listed in the “Calls for Patient Input” table, below, along with the respective deadlines for providing patient input.

Patient groups and individuals are encouraged to subscribe to Calls for Patient Input e-alerts using the CADTH Subscribe button.

Note: Dates for pending submissions are noted in the table as tentative. Once a pending submission is received by CADTH, the dates on the website will be updated and a second e-alert will be sent to subscribers with the confirmed deadline date.

Steps for Providing Patient Input

• Review the Guide for Patient Group Input to the Common Drug Review for information about the type of patient input CADTH is requesting, how it will be incorporated into the CDR process, and the process for submitting patient group input.
• Download the Template for Submitting Patient Input to the Common Drug Review.
• Complete the template.
• Submit the completed document, either by:
  • using the “Submit” link in the table below for the drug of interest (the recommended method), or
  • faxing the completed template to CADTH ―
    Fax: 613-226-5392
    Attention: CDR Directorate.
    

Please note that CADTH is requesting that patient input:

• be submitted through an organized patient group
• be submitted by the posted deadline (in order to have maximum impact on the CDR process)
• be submitted in English and not exceed six typed pages (approximately 3,500 words).

Should you have any questions about completing the patient group input template, please contact the CDR Directorate by telephone at 613-226-2553, ext. 1233 or by email at patient.input.inquiries@cadth.ca. CADTH will acknowledge receipt of all submissions. 

Tracking a CDR Review and CEDAC Recommendation

The progress of a drug through the CDR process may be followed via the CDR Drug Database, specifically the Submission Status Reports. Final CEDAC Recommendations are also posted in the database. The information in the database may be sorted in a variety of ways. The sort by “Indication” (condition) may be of particular interest to patients. (Use the black downwards arrow to select the sort option, then click on the “Sort” button.) 

Feedback

The initiative for patient group input to CDR has been developed in consultation with the participating drug plans, other international drug review agencies, and patients. CADTH intends that this process be user-friendly; therefore, we would be grateful for feedback, which may be submitted to cdrfeedback@cadth.ca.

Calls for Patient Input

Please see the aforementioned “Steps for Providing Patient Input” prior to making a patient group submission.