Technology Assessment at SickKids (TASK): The use of evidence-based evaluation to guide decisions in paediatrics

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has been defined as a field that ‘seeks to inform health policy makers by using the best scientific evidence on the medical, social, economic and ethical implications of investments in health care’.* The rise in healthcare expenditures through the introduction of new and expensive drugs and medical technologies has not been paralleled by proportional increases in healthcare budgets. These factors played a role in the creation of the field of HTA. In April 2007 TASK (Technology Assessment at SickKids) was created in order to evaluate pediatric interventions of interest to SickKids. The presentation will provide a summary of the principles of HTA and will present examples of TASK projects examining the use of caspofungin in children with febrile neutropenia and the use of biologics in patients with polyarticular-course juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

About the presenters

Dr. Wendy Ungar, MSc, PhD
Senior Scientist, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto

Dr. Wendy Ungar is a senior scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research Institute with appointments as an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, and as an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Dr. Ungar holds a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator career award and is an associate member of the Father Sean O’Sullivan Research Centre, affiliated with McMaster University.

Prior to commencing her position at SickKids, Dr. Ungar worked as a senior health economist for Innovus Research Inc. and worked in clinical research management at Ciba Canada and Bristol-Myers Pharmaceutical Group.

Dr. Ungar received her PhD from the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, received an MSc in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from McGill University and a BA cum laude from Brandeis University in Boston.

Vania Costa, MSc
Research Associate
Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children

Vania Costa joined TASK as a Research Associate in April 2007. Vania has a Masters degree in Health Economics and Administration and a graduate degree in Epidemiology from McGill University. Vania has been working with health technology assessment (HTA) since October 2002 when she started working at the McGill University Health Centre. Vania has previous experience with clinical research.

This rounds presentation will be facilitated by Dr. Melanie Barwick. A light lunch will be served.

*This event is an accredited group learning activity as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada*