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Volume3 Issue1
I
ssues and
P
eople
Afirst inCanadiandentistry
BeforeDr. Esfandiari discoveredHTA, noCanadiandentist
hadbeen trained inhow toconduct anHTA. “Tobe
honest, thereareno formally recognizedHTAexperts in
dentistry.Most ofmy trainingwasbasedonamedical
model, and I transferred it todentistry,” he says.When
heenrolled inaprogram for international HTAand
management (called theUlysses Program),most of the
students inhis cohortwereworking internationally to
providegovernment decision-makerswith soundadvice.
“Everyonewasquestioningwhyadentistwouldbe in
thisprogram,” he recalls. “Butmost peoplewereworking
in systemswhere therewas a significant publichealth
component todecision-making. I soon realized the
niche for dentistry, andhowour professioncouldbenefit
fromHTA.”Hecoinedaname for thisniche: oral health
technologyassessment, orOHTA.
Introducing students to evidence-
baseddecisions
Dr. Esfandiari nowuseshisOHTA skills to traingraduate
students atMcGill,wherehe teaches them thebasicsof
HTAand scrutinizes the technologies they’reexposed
to. “Manydecisionsmadebyeducators andgeneral
practitioners arenot necessarilyevidence-based, although
we like to think theyare.Wehavenot exhaustively looked
into thedifferent attributesof these technologies,”
he says. “And I thinkwehaveanethical and legal
responsibility tomake sure thatwhatwe teachandbring
to thepopulation isbasedon solidgroundand solid
evidence. That ismypassion.”
a
Reference
1.EsfandiariS,FeineJ.HealthTechnologyAssessment inOralHealth.
IntJOralMaxillofac Implants.
2011;26Suppl:93-100.
InHisOwnWords
Dr.Esfandiari recommendstheseHTAresources
• The ‘bibleofhealthtechnologyassessment’across
theworld is
The InternationalNetworkofAgencies
forHealthTechnologyAssessment
(INAHTA).
Theirwebsitehasgoodresourcesand linkstomany
reports.
•
TheCanadianAgencyforDrugsandTechnologies
inHealth
(CADTH) isaCanadianmemberof INAHTA.
YoucanviewdentalHTAreviewson itswebsite:
cadth.ca
.CADTH iscurrently inviting interested
individualstoproposetopics for futureCADTHHealth
TechnologyAssessmentorOptimalUseprojects.
• Ipublishedthefirstbookonoralhealthtechnology
assessmentand it’ssortofsnowballed fromthere.
OralHealthTechnologyAssessment,Studyof
MandibularTwo-ImplantOverdenture
, (2010),
S.Esfandiari;LambertAcademicPublishing,Germany.
I thinkwe have an ethical and legal responsibility tomake sure that
whatwe teachandbring to the population is based on solid groundand
solid evidence.
