CADTH Honours Dr. Tony Fields, “Father” of Cancer-Related Health Technology Assessment in Canada

Halifax, NS (April 17, 2018) — CADTH is pleased to announce that Edmonton’s Dr. Anthony (Tony) Fields is the recipient of the 2018 Dr. Jill M. Sanders Award of Excellence in Health Technology Assessment, which honours individuals whose outstanding achievements have significantly advanced the field of health technology assessment in Canada. He will accept the award today at a luncheon in Halifax in front of more than 700 people attending the 2018 CADTH Symposium.

Dr. Fields’ entire career has been devoted to improving the care and treatment provided to people living with cancer. Among patients and families he is beloved for the compassionate care he provided through his clinical practice at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. And among health system leaders, he is widely respected for the knowledge and integrity he brought to his work at the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR), which provides provincial and territorial drug plans (except Quebec) and provincial cancer agencies with reimbursement recommendations to guide their cancer drug funding decisions.

“The impact that Dr. Tony Fields has had on cancer care in Canada cannot be overstated. He is a compassionate physician, an accomplished researcher, a leader, and a visionary,” says Dr. Brian O’Rourke, CADTH President and CEO. “His drive to improve patient care extended from the bedside in Alberta right across the country and his determination helped lay the foundation for Canada’s robust and internationally recognized approach to assessing cancer drugs.”

Originally from Barbados, Dr. Fields received his medical degree from the University of Alberta and trained in internal medicine and medical oncology at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (formerly the Princess Margaret Hospital), respectively.

Widely recognized as the “father” of cancer-related health technology assessment in Canada, Dr. Fields was instrumental in the creation of pCODR in 2010. He served as the founding Chair of the pCODR Expert Review Committee and continued as Chair when pCODR was transferred to CADTH in 2014.

“I’m simply thrilled, that’s really all I have to say,” says Dr. Fields. “It was truly a privilege for me to be involved in pCODR right through its gestation, birth, childhood and adolescence.”

During his distinguished career Dr. Fields also served as Chair of the board of directors of the Health Quality Council of Alberta and Chair of Alberta Health Services’ Provincial Advisory Council on Cancer. He is a past president of the National Cancer Institute of Canada and has served on the boards of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance, the Canadian Oncology Society and the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies. Dr. Fields has also been named as one of Alberta’s 100 Physicians of the Century and the Capital Region’s 2010 Physician of the Year. In 2012 he was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to cancer treatment, diagnosis and research in Alberta as a professor and administrator.

“My aspiration for pCODR is that, whatever happens in terms of its further evolution, I hope to see continued growth in the recognition and respect that it has garnered among its stakeholders here in Canada and its peers in the international community of health technology assessment,” says Dr. Fields.

Established in 2010, the Dr. Jill M. Sanders Award of Excellence in Health Technology Assessment is named in honour of Dr. Jill M. Sanders, President and CEO of CADTH from 1987 to 2010. Dr. Sanders led the transformation of CADTH from a small office into an agency with a significant and growing impact on the quality and sustainability of health care in Canada and improved health outcomes. She passed away in February 2010 from cancer.

What: CADTH Recognition Awards
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Time: 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. AT
Where: 2018 CADTH Symposium, Halifax Convention Centre, Halifax, NS

About CADTH

CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for providing Canada's health care decision-makers with objective evidence to help make informed decisions about the optimal use of drugs and medical devices in our health care system. CADTH receives funding from Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial governments, with the exception of Quebec.
 
For more information contact Andrea Tiwari, Marketing and Communications, CADTH, at 613 614 6863 or [email protected].