Dr Pierre Dagenais has been appointed Deputy Scientific Director. His role will be to provide scientific follow-up in support of Scientific Director, Dr  Alicia Framarin. He assumed his duties on September 6, 2007.

Report prepared for AETMIS by Cathy Gosselin.

In September 2005, at a forum on colon and rectal cancer organized by the Direction de la lutte contre le cancer, specialists observed that Québec lags behind the rest of Canada with regard to colon and rectal cancer mortality. Several strategies for improving patient management were discussed. One of the many solutions proposed was to improve access to medical imaging for better rectal cancer staging and better candidate selection for preoperative treatments in particular. During the course of the forum the specialist had, in fact, also discussed problems with access to endorectal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in Québec.

Report prepared for AETMIS by Pierre Dagenais and Alicia Framarin.

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a degenerative disease that frequently results in the need for total knee replacement. This disease has been absorbing an ever-growing share of the human and financial resources of Québec's health-care system.

Considered by some to  be an alternative to surgery, viscosupplementation involves draining the affected knee then injecting it with hyaluronic acid. The clinical effectiveness of this procedure, which is intended to relieve pain and improve joint mobility, remains controversial.

On July 1, 2007, Dr. Reiner Banken, the Agency Deputy Executive Director, Development and Partnerships, became the third president of HTAi (Health Technology Assessment International). Elected in July 2006 as vice president of this international organization whose mission is to support the development, communication, understanding and use of HTA around the world, Dr. Reiner Banken is succeeding to Dr. Berit Mørland of the Norwegian Centre for Health Technology Assessment.

Initial report prepared for AETMIS by Michèle Monette with the subsequent contribution of Imen Khelia.

The ministry wanted to know under what circumstances it would be preferable to allocate three- and four-wheel scooters rather than electric-powered wheelchairs (EPWs) and whether transferring its program to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec would make for easier management of all mobility devices. The findings show that a scooter is of greater benefit than a motorized wheelchair when it meets the user's mobility needs and the user has the ability to operate it. Scooters actually seem to support social integration, mainly because they have a less stigmatizing appearance. Moreover, since their average cost is half that of EPWs, their allocation could represent savings. However, scooters do not necessarily represent an alternative to powered wheelchairs.