Environmental Scanning Service
The Environmental Scanning Service alerts decision makers to new and emerging health technologies that are likely to have a significant impact on the delivery of health care in Canada. Environmental scanning also involves taking a more comprehensive look at the health care environment and maintaining a pulse on how evidence is being used to inform practice and policy decisions.
Through our active, ongoing literature scanning, we identify health technologies that are in the early development and adoption stages and those that may affect health care finances, facilities, operations, and patient care. Environmental scanning also involves establishing and maintaining networks with key health care stakeholders and scanning the environment to better understand not only what new technologies are on the horizon, but also how old technologies are being used. Environmental scanning also provides insight into research scanning here in Canada and elsewhere.
Our environmental scanning reports and information products help inform decision makers about emerging medical technologies, upcoming policies and practices, and research on the horizon. These products include:
- Health Technology Update– a newsletter published twice a year covering new and emerging health care technologies.
- Issues in Emerging Health Technologies – four- to eight-page bulletins indexed in PubMed (MEDLINE) and peer-reviewed and web-posted.
- Environmental Scans - short reports on current or emerging issues in health care
technology.