Last Updated : October 9, 2024
To make it faster and easier for interested individuals to understand CADTH recommendations, reports, and CADTH Symposium presentations, we’d like to equip you with the meanings of these common acronyms. Welcome to the language of health technology assessment (HTA) and the CADTH lexicon.
Acronym | What It Stands For | Details |
---|---|---|
AE | adverse event | An unwanted and usually harmful occurrence following treatment. |
BIA | budget impact analysis | Used to estimate the impact of adding a drug, device, or procedure to a public formulary or budget, based on cost and the number of people likely to receive treatment within a specific period of time. |
BSC | best supportive care | This is when the aim is to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life rather than cure the disease. |
CADTH | Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health | An independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for providing Canada’s health care decision-makers with objective evidence to help make informed decisions about the optimal use of drugs and medical devices in our health care system. |
CAPCA | Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies | An association of provincial and territorial cancer agencies involved in delivering cancer care in Canada. |
CDEC | CADTH Canadian Drug Expert Committee | A CADTH expert committee that makes drug reimbursement recommendations. |
CDR | CADTH Common Drug Review | Reviews drugs and makes reimbursement recommendations to Canada's public drug plans. In April 2021, a harmonized submission procedure took effect for CADTH’s 3 reimbursement review pathways — the CADTH Common Drug Review, the CADTH pan- Canadian Oncology Drug Review, and the Interim Plasma Protein Product Review. |
CEA | cost-effectiveness analysis | This type of analysis is used in economic evaluations to compare treatments that differ in the magnitude of their outcomes; outcomes are expressed in natural terms such as life-years gained or adverse events avoided. |
CI | confidence interval | The CI is a range around a result within which we would expect (with 90%, 95%, or 99% confidence) the true value to lie; the true value, however, may still lie outside this range. |
CMA | cost-minimization analysis | Used in economic evaluations, the CMA compares treatments that have similar clinical outcomes. |
COI | conflict of interest | This refers to when judgment about one activity may be influenced, or be seen to be influenced, by competing interests or activities. A COI may be intellectual, financial, or personal. |
CPEC | CADTH Canadian Plasma Protein Product Expert Committee | CPEC is a subcommittee of CDEC that makes recommendations for plasma protein products. |
CPG | clinical practice guideline | This is an evidence-based statement and recommendation that helps health care professionals and patients make decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. |
CUA | cost-utility analysis | Such analysis is used in economic evaluations to compare treatments when the outcomes are different. Outcomes are expressed in quality-adjusted life-years to allow comparison between health technologies. |
DAC | CADTH Device Advisory Committee | This committee provides input to CADTH on ways to improve the management of medical devices. |
DIN | Drug Identification Number | This number is assigned by Health Canada to any prescription or over-the-counter drug that is allowed to be sold in Canada. |
EQ-5D | EuroQol 5-Dimensions questionnaire | This measures health-related quality of life determined by an individual’s level of functioning on 5 aspects of health: mobility, self- care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. |
FPT | federal/provincial/territorial | CADTH receives funding from Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, with the exception of Quebec. |
FWG | Formulary Working Group | This working group of the CADTH Pharmaceutical Advisory Committee gives advice to CADTH on pharmaceutical issues. |
HC | Health Canada | This federal government department is responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. |
HRQoL | health-related quality of life | These are aspects of quality of life that are affected by illness and its treatment, including physical, psychological, and social functioning. |
HTA | health technology assessment | This systematically evaluates the direct and intended effects of a health technology, as well as its indirect and unintended consequences. An HTA is generally undertaken to help others make a decision on a technology’s use or purchase. |
HTERP | CADTH Health Technology Expert Review Panel | The panel develops guidance on medical devices and diagnostic tests for Canadian health care decision-makers. |
HTM | health technology management | This refers to the management of drug and non-drug health technologies, from pre-market development to adoption and use, to obsolescence. |
ICER | incremental cost-effectiveness ratio | This is the result of a cost-effective analysis; the ratio is of the difference between the costs (in dollars) of 2 treatments and the difference in the outcomes. |
ICUR | incremental cost-utility ratio | The ICUR is similar to the ICER, although costs are measured in dollars and benefits are measured in quality-adjusted life-years. |
INESSS | Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux | INESSS provides Quebec’s health care decision-makers with objective evidence on the adoption, use, and public-plan coverage of technologies, medications, and interventions; and develops guides to clinical practice for their optimal use. |
LTC | long-term care | This type of care is meant for individuals with long-term functional or cognitive disabilities who need access to 24-hour nursing care and assistance with activities of daily living. |
LY | life-years | This is an estimate of the years of life the average person lives as a result of a health technology. |
MCID | minimal clinically important difference | This is used to describe the smallest change in a treatment outcome that patients would identify as important and which might lead to a change in treatment. |
NOC | Notice of Compliance | The NOC authorization is given by Health Canada when regulatory requirements are met, allowing a pharmaceutical company to market a drug in Canada. |
NOC/c | Notice of Compliance with Conditions | Authorization given by Health Canada when the pharmaceutical company agrees to do more research to show that its drug helps patients. |
NON | Notice of Non-Compliance | This notice is given by Health Canada to the pharmaceutical company after an application has been reviewed because it does not meet the conditions of the Food and Drugs Act and its Food and Drug Regulations. |
OS | overall survival | OS is the length of time from either the date of diagnosis or the start of treatment that patients diagnosed with the disease are still alive. It is often used as a measure in clinical trials for oncology drugs to find out how well a treatment works. |
PAG | pCODR Provincial Advisory Group | Representatives from public drug plans and provincial cancer agencies provide operational advice for oncology drug reimbursement reviews to ensure that the process and recommendations meet the evidence needs of decision-makers to guide funding decisions. |
pCODR | CADTH pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review | Reviews cancer drugs and makes reimbursement recommendations to Canada's public drug plans and provincial cancer agencies. In April 2021, a harmonized submission procedure took effect for CADTH’s 3 reimbursement review pathways: the CADTH Common Drug Review, the CADTH pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review, and the Interim Plasma Protein Product Review. |
pCPA | pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance | This entity negotiates with pharmaceutical companies to achieve greater value on drugs for publicly funded drug plans. |
pERC | CADTH pCODR Expert Review Committee | This expert committee of CADTH makes oncology drug reimbursement recommendations. |
PFS | progression-free survival | PFS is the length of time after treatment that a person lives with cancer without the disease worsening. It is often used as a measure in clinical trials of oncology drugs to find out how well a treatment works. |
PMPRB | Patented Medicine Prices Review Board | The PMPRB ensures that the prices of patented medicines sold in Canada are not excessive. |
PPP | Interim Plasma Protein Product Review | The review process involves CADTH and Canadian Blood Services making reimbursement recommendations on plasma protein products. In April 2021, a harmonized submission procedure took effect for CADTH’s 3 reimbursement review pathways — the CADTH Common Drug Review, the CADTH pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review, and the Interim Plasma Protein Product Review. |
PRO | patient-reported outcome | PRO is the information gathered directly from patients about how they feel or function. |
QALY | quality-adjusted life-year | This estimates the duration and quality of survival for an individual over an assumed time period. |
RCT | randomized controlled trial | This type of study design randomly assigns participants into different treatment groups. |
RFA | Request for Advice | A formal process, RFA enables drug plans to seek advice about a previous CADTH recommendation. |
RHA | Regional Health Authority | Canadian provincial governments administer and deliver public health care to residents via these authorities, which may also be known as Health Authorities or collectively as a Health Network or Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). |
RR | CADTH Rapid Response | These CADTH reports provide health care decision-makers with up-to-date evidence tailored to meet specific needs. |
SF-36 | Short Form (36-item) Health Survey questionnaire | The SF-36 is a Medical Outcomes Study questionnaire of overall health status that assesses functional status, well-being, and quality of life. |
WDAE | withdrawal due to adverse event | A WDAE is any adverse event that results in the patient stopping taking the drug during a clinical trial. |