Mandate of the Advisory Committee

Background

The health and social services systems in developing countries are facing major challenges. The needs they must meet are constantly evolving not only because of demographic changes but also because citizens’ values and expectations are changing in pace with the issues debated by society. Advances in knowledge, technology and approaches lead to the need to constantly update professional practices, organizational choices and health policies in order to offer healthcare services that meet the highest quality criteria in the midst of limited resources. The various health system stakeholders are therefore required to make difficult decisions. They must promote the adoption, dissemination and optimal use of innovative technologies and practices that have the greatest added value, and they must create organizational conditions allowing for their implementation. Yet these decision issues are marked by great uncertainty throughout the life cycle of innovative technologies and practices. Decisions must therefore be based on the best available evidence.

The Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) was created in January 2011 precisely to respond to the various decision-making needs generated by the growing knowledge and technological advances affecting our health and social services system. Mandated to promote clinical excellence and the effective use of resources, INESSS assesses, among other things, the clinical benefits and costs of technologies, medications and health and social services interventions, and then issues recommendations as to their adoption, use and public health coverage. INESSS also develops clinical practice guidelines allowing for the generalization and optimal use of innovative practices. 

In pursuing its mandate, INESSS seeks to promote dialogue with the main stakeholders involved in technological innovation in our health system in order to optimize assessment strategies that will do justice to the innovative technologies liable to provide the greatest added value and to support decisions regarding their implementation, while taking into account the perspectives of the different stakeholders in the health and social services system.

To that end, INESSS has set up an advisory committee. This committee makes it possible to establish a dialogue on the issues related to the assessment of innovative technologies in the health and social services system in Québec, with the participation of the main groups concerned, that is, the health technology industry, the health technology assessment community, researchers, clinicians, patients, users, and managers of the health and social services network at local, regional and provincial levels.

Mandate

  • Develop a common language in the field of HTA and innovative technologies.
  • Promote a common understanding of the issues related to the introduction of innovative technologies.
  • Propose avenues to optimize innovative technology assessment strategies.
  • Support and contribute to the organization of the HTA and Innovative Technologies Forum, a public one-day event held every 18 months to reflect the ideas and discussions advanced on this issue.

Composition

Representatives of key stakeholders in the field of HTA and innovative technologies:

For the health technology industry

  • MEDEC (association for the Canadian medical technology industry)
  • MEDTEQ (Quebec Consortium for Industrial Research and Innovation in Medical Technology)
  • Montréal InVivo (a life sciences and health technology coalition)
  • Regroupement en soins de santé personnalisés du Québec (RSSPQ)
  • Rx&D (association of Canada's research-based pharmaceutical companies)

For patients and users

  • Bureau patient partenaire de l’Université de Montréal
  • Regroupement provincial des comités des usagers

For the HTA community

  • HTA community of practices

For the research communities

  • Fonds de recherche du Québec
  • Génome Québec
  • Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie
  • For the clinical communities
  • Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ)
  • Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ)
  • Association des pharmaciens des établissements de santé du Québec (APES)

For the managers of the health and social services network, at local, regional and national levels

  • Association québécoise d'établissements de santé et de services sociaux (AQESSS)
  • Health and social services agencies
  • Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux

For the economic development communities

  • Ministère des Finances et de l'Économie

Observers

  • Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) 
  • Resource persons

Type of committee

  • Acts as advisor to the President and CEO of INESSS.
  • Complements other joint mechanisms, such as the sectoral roundtable, the RUIS roundtable, and bilateral meetings with industry and other stakeholders.

Operation

  • The committee is chaired by the Advisor to the CEO of INESSS, Alliances and Networks.
  • Scientific and logistical support is provided by INESSS.
  • Representatives from each organization have a three-year mandate, and they may be accompanied by another person.
  • Meetings are held at INESSS offices in Montréal and take place three to four times a year.
  • Participants are required to contribute actively to discussions on the concept of innovations and their associated contextual issues (documents, presentations, etc.).
  • Where necessary, working groups may be set up.
  • A Wiki platform is made available to allow members to collaborate online.
  • Representatives’ travel expenses are paid by each organization, except for those of patient or user group representatives, which may be covered by special agreements.

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