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Internet Information Sources for the Identification of Emerging Health Technologies: A Starting Point

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Evelinda Trindade ,
Leigh-Ann Topfer  and
Mara De Giusti
Evelinda Trindade
Affiliation:
Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA)
Leigh-Ann Topfer
Affiliation:
Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA)
Mara De Giusti
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

The basis of an early warning system for new and emerging health technologies is information, and in particular, information that has been selectively extracted from the huge quantity of data in the fields of medicine, science, and biobusiness. The information will be useful only if presented in a format suitable to the needs of health care decision makers and produced at the time most likely to influence the introduction or diffusion of new technologies. In 1997 the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA) began a one-year pilot project to identify and provide information on developments in medical technologies that may have a significant impact on health care in Canada. We began by examining the information available to us through the Internet, based on the assumption that electronic sources can offer more timely access to a greater range of information, often with little or no cost involved. It was important to identify the sites that offered the most relevant information in the least amount of time.

Keywords

InternetInformation ServicesDatabasesForecasting
Type
Special Section: Early Identification and Assessment of Emerging Health Technology
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , Fall 1998 , pp. 644 - 651
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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References

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