Results at a glance - Evaluation of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health

The Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada Office of Audit and Evaluation acknowledge and thank all individuals who gave their time and input for this evaluation. In particular, the Office of Audit and Evaluation acknowledges the consulting firm of Science-Metrix who conducted the recipient-led evaluation of CADTH’s activities that can be found on the CADTH website.

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)

• CADTH is an independent, national organization created in 1989 by the F/P/T Ministers of Health to support the ideal use of drugs and non-drug technologies in Canada’s health care system.
• CADTH seeks to provide timely information based on research about the clinical and cost-effectiveness of pharmaceuticals and other health technologies (including devices, procedures and systems).
• CADTH works closely with its customers (i.e., health care decision makers) to produce unbiased information and advice using the best available evidence.
• CADTH conducts health technology assessments and assesses the optimal use of products for “clinical effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness, and may include the ethical, legal, and social implications of health technologies on patient health and the healthcare system.

What the evaluation found

• Assessments of drugs and other health technologies are an important source of information in decision making, as such there continues to be a need for CADTH activities in this area.
• CADTH has made positive contributions to building awareness for health evidence, and there is strong demonstration that CADTH’s products and services are being used.
• CADTH customers were highly satisfied with the quality and usefulness of its products; however, despite improvements in the timeliness of CADTH information, more should still be done.
• CADTH has improved coordination and knowledge sharing between health technology assessment producers by adopting a new approach to partnerships.
• By encouraging stakeholders to work together, CADTH has helped reduce duplication in health technology assessment processes in Canada.
• CADTH needs to collect information to better demonstrate the value of its products and services.

Recommendations

The recipient-led evaluation resulted in three recommendations directed at CADTH which can be found on the CADTH website, whereas this departmental-led evaluation did not result in any recommendations directed at Health Canada.

About the evaluation

The evaluation looked at the relevance and performance of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016. The evaluation included a review of literature, documents, financial and other administrative data, interviews, an e-survey and case studies.

March 2017