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RAPID REVIEW: AN EMERGING APPROACH TO EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Part of: Special Collection - Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2014

Sara Khangura ,
Julie Polisena ,
Tammy J. Clifford ,
Kelly Farrah  and
Chris Kamel
Sara Khangura
Affiliation:
Department Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Julie Polisena
Affiliation:
Department Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, University of OttawaCanadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Tammy J. Clifford
Affiliation:
Department Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, University of OttawaCanadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Kelly Farrah
Affiliation:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Chris Kamel
Affiliation:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
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Abstract

Background: Increasingly, healthcare decision makers demand quality evidence in a short timeframe to support urgent and emergent decisions related to procurement, clinical practice, and policy. Health technology assessment (HTA) producers are responding by developing innovative approaches to evidence synthesis that can be executed more quickly than traditional systematic review. These approaches, and the broader implications they bring to bear on health decision making and policy development, however, are generally neither well-understood nor well-described. This study intends to contribute to an emerging literature around methodological approaches to rapid review in HTA by outlining those developed and implemented by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH).

Methods: Since 2005, CADTH has developed and implemented a rapid review approach that synthesizes evidence to support informed healthcare decisions and policy. Rapid Response reports are tailored to the identified needs of Canadian health decision makers, representing a range of options with regard to depth, breadth, and time-to-delivery.

Results: Preliminary observations indicate that CADTH's approach to rapid evidence review is generally well-received by Canadian health decision makers; real-world case studies provide pragmatic examples of how health decision makers have used Rapid Response reports to support evidence-informed health decisions across Canada.

Conclusions: Rapid review is becoming an increasingly important approach to evidence synthesis, both within and external to the field of HTA. Transparent reporting of the methods used to develop rapid review products will be critical to the assessment of their relevance, utility and effects in a range of contexts.

Keywords

ReviewSystematicMethodsHealth policyTechnology assessment
Type
Methods
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 20 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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