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Guide to source water protection planning : protecting sources of drinking water in Alberta

Description

The growing challenges of ensuring safe, reliable drinking water in Alberta have increased the need for a more integrated, collaborative approach to minimize water treatment costs, reduce public... More ≫

Description

The growing challenges of ensuring safe, reliable drinking water in Alberta have increased the need for a more integrated, collaborative approach to minimize water treatment costs, reduce public health risks and protect drinking water sources. In 2018, the Government of Alberta partnered with the Alberta Water Council to form a multi-sector project team to provide guidance for protecting sources of drinking water in Alberta. This guide provides advice on how to protect drinking water sources through source water protection planning.

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Glucose monitoring technologies for the management of insulin-dependent diabetes

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Presents the findings and conclusions of a provincial health technology assessment on the clinical effectiveness and patient perspectives of using glucose monitors to help manage glucose levels in... More ≫

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Presents the findings and conclusions of a provincial health technology assessment on the clinical effectiveness and patient perspectives of using glucose monitors to help manage glucose levels in patients with insulin-dependent Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The technologies included in this review are self monitoring of blood glucose (e.g., finger sticks), continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), flash glucose monitors (FGMs), closed loop systems (CL), and sensor augmented pumps (SAP).

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Cannabis evidence series : an evidence synthesis

Description

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Canada. In 2015, the new Liberal government of Canada announced their plan to legalize cannabis and in June of 2016 a federal task force on... More ≫

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Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Canada. In 2015, the new Liberal government of Canada announced their plan to legalize cannabis and in June of 2016 a federal task force on cannabis was announced. Guided by this task force, cannabis legislation is expected to be introduced in 2017. To inform Alberta’s response to the federal decision to legalize cannabis, the University of Calgary Health Technology Assessment Unit developed a series of evidence syntheses to support policy development by the Government of Alberta. This resource consists of five reports that address: the Canadian Context for cannabis use and legalization; the health effects and harms of cannabis; medical cannabis; advertisement and communication regulations; and experience with legalization among jurisdictions who have legalized cannabis use.

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Hepatitis C screening in Alberta : a health technology assessment

Description

This report presents the findings and conclusions of a provincial health technology assessment on Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) screening. The primary policy issue for this report was to determine the... More ≫

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This report presents the findings and conclusions of a provincial health technology assessment on Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) screening. The primary policy issue for this report was to determine the optimal strategy for HCV screening in Alberta, including determining the appropriate population for targeted HCV screening, whether there any relevant non age-based sub-populations at particular risk for HCV for whom targeted HCV screening would be appropriate, and whether it is appropriate to introduce age-based targeted HCV screening in the province.

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Canadian publicly funded prescription drug plans, expenditures and an overview of patient impacts

Description

This report compares publicly-funded drug programs across Canada and determines where Alberta fits in comparison to the other provinces/territories with respect to its publicly-funded drug plans,... More ≫

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This report compares publicly-funded drug programs across Canada and determines where Alberta fits in comparison to the other provinces/territories with respect to its publicly-funded drug plans, drug access, expenditures, and patient-borne out-of-pocket costs.

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Best practices in the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in residents of long-term care facilities in Alberta : a health technology reassessment

Description

By 2038, 100,000 Alberta residents are projected to be diagnosed with dementia. Approximately 71 per cent of the estimated 13,000 Albertans living in long-term care facilities have a dementia... More ≫

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By 2038, 100,000 Alberta residents are projected to be diagnosed with dementia. Approximately 71 per cent of the estimated 13,000 Albertans living in long-term care facilities have a dementia diagnosis. While the cognitive impairment of dementia is devastating, the accompanying symptoms, generally termed the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, are also quite challenging for patients, families and caregivers. The research objective of this study was to summarize the clinical and cost-effectiveness evidence for pharmacological and non-pharmacological alternatives to antipsychotics to support the development of a clinical practice guideline and provincial policy development for the best clinical practice alternatives to antipsychotics use for the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in long-term care facilities in Alberta.

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Use of Oncotype DX for guiding adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in early stage invasive breast cancer patients in Alberta : a health technology assessment

Description

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian women, accounting for an estimated 26 per cent of all cancer cases at the time of publication. Gene expression profiling (GEP) is an emerging... More ≫

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian women, accounting for an estimated 26 per cent of all cancer cases at the time of publication. Gene expression profiling (GEP) is an emerging technology that may be able to successfully divide breast cancer patients into prognostic groups based on genes that increase in proliferating cells. Oncotype DX (Genome Health Inc.) is one commercially available GEP in Canada. However, there are concerns about the value-added merit of this testing. The primary policy question to be answered by this report is: Should Oncotype DX be publicly funded in Alberta? Other research objectives of the study include: determining the safety and effectiveness/efficacy of Oncotype DX as a decision support tool for adjuvant chemotherapy treatment decisions in women with early stage invasive breast cancer; determining the cost-effectiveness of Oncotype DX and other relevant comparators, and determining the budget impact of Oncotype DX as a decision support...

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Transarterial radioembolization for the treatment of hepatic neoplasia : update of the 2010 STE report

Description

The present report is an update to the November 2010 STE Report: Transarterial Radioembolization for the treatment of Hepatic Neoplasia. The past report assessed the effectiveness of TARE for... More ≫

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The present report is an update to the November 2010 STE Report: Transarterial Radioembolization for the treatment of Hepatic Neoplasia. The past report assessed the effectiveness of TARE for onsideration as a publically funded health service in Alberta. This update assesses literature published between February 2010 and March 2012 on the effectiveness of TARE for hepatic neoplasia. The results of this update will provide information on the amount of recent research activity into TARE and changes in TARE’s effectiveness.

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