Notice to PHABC Membership

2021 Annual General Meeting – December 9

Thursday December 9, 2021 11:30AM-1:00PM – ONLINE

We hope to see many of you online Thursday, December 9th, 2021 from 11:30am to 1:00pm for our Annual General Meeting and a special presentation on safe supply and the ongoing opioid crisis in our province. Join us via Zoom to learn what our association has been doing this past year, meet our new Board of Directors members, and hear about our plans are for the upcoming year. Whether you are new to the association or one of our long-standing members, please consider joining us to keep up to date on what PHABC does, what we are advocating for, and how you can get involved.

The AGM is free to access and open to all members. To join us on the 9th just click the link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7792413190

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Worsening Illicit Drug Toxicity Crisis and Safe Supply

Dr. Patricia Daly, Vice President of Public Health & Chief Medical Health Officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, will join us to discuss the worsening illicit drug toxicity crisis as an unintended consequence of the pandemic response, and the urgent need for both a safe supply and strategies to prevent problematic substance use. The presentation will run from 11:30am to 12:00pm, with the AGM beginning immediately after. We encourage you to arrive early to attend this informative presentation and educate yourself on this prevalent public health emergency.

The BC Health Technology Assessment Committee (HTAC), comprised of representatives from each health authority, the Ministry of Health, and other professional members, is issuing its annual Call for Topics for 2022/23 as part of the BC Health Technology Assessment (BC HTA) process.

 In 2011, the BC HTA process and HTAC were established to make evidence-informed recommendations about the public provision of health technologies based on their demonstrated clinical and cost-effectiveness. A health technology is defined as a procedure, device, and/or equipment involved in the maintenance, restoration, and/or promotion of health that is expected to have a significant patient and/or health system impact. It encompasses technologies used at any stage of care, including risk detection and disease prevention, early detection of disease, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.

Examples of recently assessed technologies through the BC HTA process include glucose monitoring technologies for the management of insulin-dependent diabetes, a stepped model of care for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and MitraClip for percutaneous mitral valve repair.

Health technology assessments are produced by independent organizations and include a comprehensive review of the existing clinical evidence, input from both clinicians/health professionals and patients, and a BC-specific cost-effectiveness analysis and budget impact assessment. HTAC evaluates this evidence and makes recommendations to a committee made up of senior health authority and Ministry executives on whether or not to fund the health technology.

If you are aware of a) any health technologies that are not publicly funded (new assessment), or b) health technologies that are currently being used but whose benefits may no longer be clear (reassessment), please complete the attached BC HTA Nomination Form and forward it to HTA.Office@gov.bc.ca by November 30th.

For further information on the BC HTA process and HTAC, please visit http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/hta/ or email Selva Bayat, Policy Analyst, Ministry of Health, at selva.bayat@gov.bc.ca.