Updates for Patient Groups - January 2015

Pilot Extension for Individual Patient Input to CDR

We are further extending the pilot to receive patient input submissions from individual patients and caregivers for an additional six months (until August 3, 2015).

CADTH will accept patient input from individual patients or caregivers when there is no patient group or related patient group representing those with a condition for which a drug under review is indicated. Please note that individual patient or caregiver input will not be accepted in cases where organized patient group(s) representing the particular condition exists.

If you are interested in providing individual input and are uncertain as to whether a group exists, please contact CADTH for confirmation. Contact us by telephone at 613-226-2553 or by email at [email protected]. In most cases, we will be able to help you identify a relevant patient group with whom you can share your experiences.

If CADTH confirms that no relevant patient group exists, we will provide you with the individual patient and caregiver template. The process for providing input as an individual is essentially the same as the process for providing input as a patient group. See Patient Input for details.

Pilot Extension for Patient Input for Therapeutic Reviews

A CADTH therapeutic review is a review of the most recent evidence available in the public domain regarding a single drug, a drug class, or a drug category. CADTH has recently completed therapeutic reviews on direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C, drugs for pulmonary arterial hypertension, and the management of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. All of these reviews incorporated patient input, as part of a pilot process.

CADTH is extending this pilot (until Nov 30, 2015) to give us time to learn what has worked so far and what could be done differently in the future. See Therapeutic Update for details.

Answering Multiple Calls for Patient Input

We appreciate patient groups providing input for each drug review at CADTH. We value what you tell us.

We also recognize workload pressures for your group that can arise when multiple drugs, with similar indications, arrive to the CADTH Common Drug Review in close succession. When this happens, you might want to:

• Focus your energy answering section 3 of the template on expectations for the new drug and reporting any patient experiences with the drug in review.
• Reuse the perspectives and quotes from past submissions to answer sections 1 and 2.
• Reuse quotes or comments that are still the most relevant to the patient community as new treatments become available.
• Consider a joint submission with another patient group to help share the workload.

Reminder: Stakeholder Engagement Session — February 5, 2015

CADTH is inviting stakeholders to attend an information and feedback session regarding phase II of the transition of pCODR to CADTH, including the work being carried out to better align the pCODR and CADTH Common Drug Review processes. Registration is required.