COMPUS Communiqué — Vol. 4, No. 16

March 30, 2009

In This Issue

New Report and Intervention Tools Available for Insulin Analogues

Today the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), through its COMPUS program, released the latest additions to its series of summary reports and intervention tools aimed at improving the prescribing and utilization of insulin analogues.

Executive Summary – This summary report guides users through each component of the insulin analogue topic, including the evidence-based intervention tools, key messages to address practice and knowledge gaps, and clinical- and cost-effectiveness data, which together form the basis for CADTH tools and reports.

Didactic Presentation for Pharmacists – Designed for pharmacist education meetings, these slides may be used by continuing medical education providers, in part or in whole, for education on the optimal prescribing and use of insulin analogues.

Presentation for Pharmacists together with Interactive Case Studies – These products are designed for use, in part or in whole, by continuing medical education providers in small education sessions for pharmacists regarding the optimal prescribing and use of insulin analogues.

Upskilling Document – Provides relevant reference material to qualified interventionists (i.e., continuing medical education providers, academic detailers).

Current Practice Report for Blood Glucose Test Strips

CADTH has also released the following report from its Blood Glucose Test Strips topic, the second topic within the Diabetes Management priority area:

Current Practice Analysis: A Qualitative Analysis of the Perceptions of Health Care Providers and Patients on Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose

This report explores the current views and experiences of health care professionals and patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes regarding self-monitoring of blood glucose in the management of diabetes.

Upcoming Consultations on the Draft Optimal Therapy Recommendations Report for Blood Glucose Test Strips

The Draft Optimal Therapy Recommendations for the Prescribing and Use of Blood Glucose Test Strips report is currently being reviewed by our COMPUS Expert Review Committee and COMPUS Advisory Committee. CADTH will be inviting all interested parties to provide feedback on this report and you will receive another Communiqué to officially announce the consultation period, currently slated for mid-April 2009.

Evaluation Framework: Support for Current and Future COMPUS Topics

As part of its mandate to provide tools that help jurisdictions and others implement and support the adoption of optimal drug therapy in decision making, COMPUS has released the following addition to its suite of generic tools that can be adapted and used in regions across the country:

This framework provides options for qualitative and quantitative evaluation that could be undertaken by educational providers, their sponsors, or COMPUS to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention tools. This document may also be used to support the evaluation of current and future COMPUS topics.

CADTH Employment Opportunities

CADTH is seeking candidates for a variety of positions that are posted on the Careers page.

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