This environmental scan describes existing initiatives that aim to accelerate the diagnostic phase of cancer care in Alberta, Canada, and internationally. Specifically, it describes their development and implementation, structure and functioning, intended outcomes and effectiveness, costs and cost savings, and enablers and barriers.
This project is concerned with describing a comprehensive set of HTA products, not the methods used to produce them. The report describes various products produced by HTA agencies and provides a summary of the basic elements of these products, but an in-depth analysis of, or comparison between, the various products in terms of their methodology is beyond its scope. Information…
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) HTA Report #12. This report has been prepared following a request from the provincial Clinical Practice Guidelines Program for information on the accuracy of diagnostic tests for the detection of bacterial vaginosis (BV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and trichomoniasis in females of reproductive age. The intention of this…
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) HTA Report #11. This report has been prepared in view of the increasing interest in ultrasound technology for diagnosis of osteoporosis. Until recently, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) was mainly being used in research settings. This procedure is still not covered by provincial fee schedules. The recent FDA pre-marketing approvals…
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) HTA Report #10. This report has been prepared as part of a project to assess the role of high cost functional diagnostic imaging (FDI) and related methods in routine health care. In the present paper, the potential application of four FDI methods to the management of epilepsy is considered. The assessment considered the current…