/R E P E A T -- CNESH Call for Nominations for 2015 Health Technology Watch List/

OTTAWA, Sept. 26, 2014 /CNW/ - Each year, countless innovative technologies emerge on the health care horizon with claims of improving patient outcomes, helping control costs, and transforming Canadian health care.

But which ones truly hold the greatest promise?

It's a challenging question confronting today's health care decision-makers, and one that the Canadian Network for Environmental Scanning in Health (CNESH) is trying to address. CNESH is now inviting the community at large to help it find the answers.

"Our major initiative is an annual Top 10 Watch List of new and emerging health technologies that could transform the delivery of health care," says Rosmin Esmail, chair of CNESH and director of the Strategic Clinical Networks Health Technology Assessment and Adoption at Alberta Health Services.

"We're asking anyone in Canada or around the world with knowledge of what's in the health technology pipeline to get involved and nominate a technology — including industry, government, clinicians, hospitals, academia, and the public."

The nomination form for the Top 10 Watch List is available online at www.cadth.ca/cnesh. Nominators are asked to provide the name and manufacturer of the technology they recommend for the list, as well as supporting documentation such as clinical trials and other evidence that can explain why a particular technology may be a game-changer. Clinical effectiveness, patient survival, impact on quality of life, safety, or costs to the health care system are elements that CNESH will consider in finalizing the list. The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, October 17, 2014.

Ms. Esmail is careful to point out that, for CNESH, the term "health technologies" refers to medical and dental devices, diagnostics and procedures, as well as drugs — anything that can be described as a "health intervention."

CNESH will announce the 2015 Top 10 Watch List at the annual CADTH Symposium taking place in Saskatoon from April 12 to 14, 2015.

"Keeping your finger on the pulse of innovation in health care has become a daunting task for the people managing our health care institutions and systems," says Ms. Esmail. "And without good evidence, making decisions about whether to invest in new health technologies is fraught with challenges and uncertainty.

"The goal of CNESH is to take an evidence-based approach to scanning the horizon, identify emerging technologies that have the greatest potential for a positive impact, and share that information broadly within Canadian health care."

CADTH provides secretariat and operational support to CNESH. For more information about CNESH and the Top 10 nomination process, please contact Andra Morrison at [email protected].

Image with caption: "Logo: Canadian Network for Environmental Scanning in Health (CNESH) (CNW Group/Canadian Network for Environmental Scanning in Health (CNESH))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141010_C7481_PHOTO_EN_42996.jpg

SOURCE: Canadian Network for Environmental Scanning in Health (CNESH)

Rosmin Esmail, MSc CHE
Director, Strategic Clinical Networks Health Technology Assessment and Adoption
Innovation and Research Operations
Research Innovation and Analytics Portfolio
Alberta Health Services
[email protected]
[phone]