The B.C. Office of Health Technology Assessment is collaborating with evidence-based medicine programs in B.C. to produce systematic reviews of technology that have significant impact on patient health and health-care costs.
Some joint projects currently underway are:
Acupuncture in the treatment of drug and alcohol dependency
Acupuncture is often used in the treatment of alcohol and drug dependence, and is believed to reduce withdrawal and other symptoms associated with abstinence.
The review's aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in addiction treatment as a supplemental therapy, an alternative therapy, or as part of a comprehensive management program.
Assessment requested by Provincial Medical Adviser, Adult Addictions Services Branch, Ministry for Children and Families.
Hearing Screening for Newborns
New hearing screening technologies targeting newborn infants have been developed and are being strongly marketed in the U.S. and Canada.
There is growing pressure to implement universal hearing screening guidelines in B.C.
The project seeks to determine if two new auditory technologies, auditory brainstem response and oto-acoustic emission, are helpful in preventing developmental delays and disabilities which may be associated with hearing loss.
Assessment requested by a group of B.C. physicians, audiologists and speech pathologists from the B.C. Research Institute for Child and Family Health, British Columbia Children's Hospital; St. Paul's Hospital; and the Hearing Services Branch of the B.C. Ministry of Health.
Review of triple marker screening in British Columbia
The aim of this project is to provide data from British Columbia to provincial policy makers regarding maternal serum triple-marker screening (TMS).
The screening is used for the detection of Down's syndrome, other rarer chromosome abnormalities and conditions such as spina bifida, a congenital defect in the walls of the spinal canal.
BCOHTA will gather qualitative and quantitative data that will be used to make decisions on the funding of B.C. screening programs.
This project is being undertaken at the request of the B.C. Ministry of Health.