CADTH launches first-ever podcasts/audio summaries of HTA reports.

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) has recently launched a series of audio summaries on the following health technology assessment (HTA) reports:

* Liquid-Based Techniques for Cervical Cancer Screening; Systematic Review and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (posted April 28, 2008)

* Reprocessing Single-Use Medical Devices in Canada (posted April 28, 2008)

* Podcast interview with the Canadian Society of Telehealth (CST) on CADTH's Telestroke report (posted February 15, 2008)

Intended to appeal to a broad audience of CADTH stakeholders, these audio recordings or podcasts are designed to capture the highlights of an HTA report in less than ten minutes. "More and more, research and knowledge-based organizations such as ours are turning to alternative media to get their messages out to a broad audience base," says Craig Larsen, Director of Knowledge Transfer at CADTH. "These audio summaries are a great way of packaging information in a portable, easy to download manner, that helps supplement our research products."

In the future, CADTH intends to provide these for more HTA reports as well as for other CADTH reports and products. Since they were first launched on April 28, more than 400 listeners have accessed the audio recordings, indicating a definite interest in this format.

You can access these audio summaries directly from CADTH's web site (www.cadth.ca) through a new link on the right hand side called "podcasts."

Also available on the CADTH web site:

* information and reports/publications from CADTH's 3 key programs: Health Technology Assessment (HTA); Common Drug Review (CDR); and the Canadian Optimal Medication Prescribing and Utilization Service (COMPUS);

* optimal drug therapy resources such as evidence-based intervention tools regarding the prescribing and use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs);

* Status reports for drugs being reviewed through CADTH's Common Drug Review as well as formulary listing recommendations made to the publicly funded drug plans in Canada (except Quebec); and much more!

Visitors can also subscribe to receive alerts when new CADTH resources of interest become available.

For more information on these audio recordings or other upcoming projects, please contact CADTH's Liaison Officer for New Brunswick, Ms. Stephanie Smith by e-mail at [e-mail] or by phone at 506-457-4948.

CADTH is a national body that provides Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial health care decision makers with credible, impartial advice and evidence-based information about the effectiveness and efficiency of drugs and other health technologies.

The CADTH Liaison Office for New Brunswick is located at 520 King Street, HSBC Place, Fredericton.

Submitted by Stephanie Smith, BN RN MA, CADTH Liaison Officer, New Brunswick