COURSE IS NOW INACTIVE

HTA on the Net is no longer supported by research grant funds or the School of Health Information Science, which prevents us from taking new students.  These pages are maintained by the course author on a volunteer basis, and the website is hosted by the University of Victoria.  We are interested in partnerships that might allow us to resume offering the course.

If you would like access to the material at this website for teaching or research, please send email to:  htaprof@uvic.ca .  Each access request is handled on a case-by-case basis.  In some cases a fee may be required for access.

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) applies rigorous, systematic methods of scientific inquiry to the evaluation and use of new or existing health care technologies. Vast amounts of practical experience have been accumulated around the world, and a large body of relevant literature (both on methods and on particular technologies) exists on the Internet and elsewhere. These resources have been packaged in a manner that will allow you to develop the knowledge and skills required to manage health care technologies based on their cost-effectiveness.

Tighter health care budgets mean constant pressure to do more with less. New technologies (drugs, devices, and procedures) abound, and well-meaning advocates for their adoption are plentiful. Manufacturers engage in persuasive marketing to the public, to managers, and to clinicians.

Yet pre-market licensing reviews often establish only safety and efficacy (ie. that the new technology results in no harm, and some improvement compared to no treatment at all). Technology assessment agencies offer critical reviews and other relevant summary information to regional health care agencies, but many health care providers and managers lack the expertise to evaluate and apply the critical appraisal information they receive.

Agencies, managers, patients, and clinicians need to know about cost-effectiveness; how do alternative technologies compare in terms of benefits, risks, and costs? Clinicians and patients also need to know enough to decide whether and how the research evidence about the alternatives applies to specific individual patients. Wise use of technology requires critical appraisal of the available literature, and the use of local knowledge. Week by week, our units will help health care professionals to develop the skills and knowledge to do health technology assessment and to incorporate the results in their decisions.

• Health care managers
• Physicians, nurses, and other care providers
• Health care data experts and policy analysts
• Health care systems professionals
• Students of health information science or health informatics

Health care professionals of all types can benefit from using Internet and other HTA resources as they design and implement their own local HTA procedures. Timely use of HTA information is needed for both evidence-based medicine and evidence-based management. Improving their HTA skills, and adopting a systematic approach to HTA in their organizations, can help managers sift and appraise conflicting claims, and consistently make the right technology decisions for their particular setting.

This course allows students to learn the basics of practical technology assessment without travelling or booking days off. This part-time professional development course by distance provides the opportunity to:

• read "lectures" at our secure website;
• study at your own pace, on your own time;
• use the Internet, email, or fax to ask questions, get answers, submit assignments, share information with other participants, and receive reports on your progress.

What will you learn?

This professional development course, taught by distance, provides an introduction to Health Technology Assessment in the current health care system environment. Participants will gain the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to:

• understand HTA information;
• conduct HTA studies; and
• use the Internet as a research tool for HTA.

Participants will:

• receive expert guidance and feedback as they learn to efficiently identify and meet their information needs from a variety of sources;
• learn to use the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the American College of Physicians' Best Evidence (combining ACP Journal Club and Evidence-Based Medicine); and be able to purchase a year's access at student rates (these excellent databases are an underused source of quick, reliable information on many health care technologies);
• learn how to search MEDLINE over the Internet, and how to find and use other sources of unbiased HTA information; and
• apply their growing knowledge in a project relevant to their current work.

Course units cover:

• the language of technology assessment and health services research, from basic to advanced concepts, with definitions and examples;
• the stages in the technology life cycle: the moving target problem, the technology assessment iterative loop;
• practical issues of health service study rigour and validity; selection bias; randomization and other control methods; meta-analysis; ethical issues [view this sample unit ];
• economic evaluation: assessing costs and effects, measuring quality of life, discounting, sensitivity analysis, equity considerations;
• sources of unbiased information, on the Internet and elsewhere, including Cochrane and other systematic reviews;
• MEDLINE search methods;
• the pitfalls of relying on vendor information, how to critique and supplement it; and
• the use of health technology assessment in evidence-based medicine and evidence-based management.

Basic familiarity with the following is assumed:

• health care system organization and management ;
• the meaning of common statistics, such as 95% confidence intervals; and
• use of a personal computer for writing, email, fax, and Internet access.

If you are unsure about whether you would benefit from this course, or about whether you have the background and skills to complete the course, please send email to Professor Warburton at htaprof@uvic.ca.

Charges vary depending on the access requested.  Participants need to:

• provide their own Internet access;
• have access to a local library with medical and HTA journals, and interlibrary loan privileges, OR purchase a course pack of assigned readings from us; and
• arrange access to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the American College of Physicians' Best Evidence 2 (combining ACP Journal Club and Evidence-Based Medicine). Enrolled participants can register for the Cochrane and ACP databases at student rates (approximate total C$225).

Who is offering the course?

This distance-learning opportunity is no longer offered by the School of Health Information Science (HIS), University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

The developer of this course is Dr. Rebecca Warburton , a health economist in Victoria, British Columbia. Dr. Warburton is a specialist in economic evaluation in health care, with broad experience in many aspects of health technology assessment, health services research, and health policy development.  Dr. Warburton is currently an Assistant Professor with the School of Public Administration (PA), University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  Formerly, Dr. Warburton was with the Research and Evaluation Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Health.  Dr. Warburton holds a BA degree in economics from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; an M.Sc. degree in economics from the London School of Economics, London, England; and a Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of London, London, England.

Development of this course was sponsored by the British Columbia Health Research Foundation (grant HTA-97#3) and by the School of Health Information Science. Advice on course content and presentation was provided by:

• Dr. David Feeny, Health economist, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta

• Dr. David Hailey, Director, Health Technology Assessment, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research , Edmonton, Alberta

• Dr. Malcolm Maclure, currently Professor, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, and Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology Department, Harvard School of Public Health , Cambridge, MA, USA. At the time of development of HTA on the Net, Dr. Maclure was Manager of Statistical Analysis and Evaluation, Pharmacare, Ministry of Health and Ministry Responsible for Seniors , Victoria, BC.

• Mr. Don Juzwishin, Health Management Consultant, Juzwishin Healthcare Consulting, Victoria, BC

• Mr. Bernard Crowe, MPH, Specialist researcher in evaluation of medical technology, Canberra, Australia

The first course offering began in 1999. The course is now inactive - see top of page.

For more information, send email to Professor Warburton at htaprof (append @uvic.ca after it to create a valid email address)