Canada’s Drug Agency and the Canadian Institute for Health Information Sign Agreement to Improve Pharmaceutical Data

Canada's Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) have signed a 3-year agreement that will leverage the strengths of both organizations to build a stronger drug data and analytics foundation across Canada. This work will aim to advance CIHI’s Pharmaceutical Roadmap by collaborating with federal, provincial, and territorial governments, as well as other partners.

This partnership of 2 pan-Canadian Health Organizations, which both support the health systems in Canada, will expand CIHI’s pharmaceutical data holdings to support analytics that can be used to improve drug access, safety, and patient health outcomes. It also informs the 3 new work streams — appropriate use, data and analytics, and system coordination and alignment — at Canada’s Drug Agency, announced by the federal government in December 2023.

Quotes

“We are pleased to partner with CIHI to improve the data ecosystem in Canada to enhance patient and health system outcomes. Our work will help answer policy questions, improve data assets, and build the infrastructure to support data and analytics across the country. CIHI has significant experience and expertise in this space, which will help us develop a policy-ready drug data and analytics system that empowers decision-makers with access to authoritative, comprehensive, and timely data and insights.”

-Dr. Nicole Mittmann, Chief Scientist and Vice-President, Scientific Evidence, Methodologies, and Resources

“We are proud to play a key role in supporting CDA-AMC’s new mandate through access and use of CIHI’s datasets and analytical expertise. CDA-AMC’s support of CIHI’s Pharmaceutical Roadmap, developed in consultation with the provinces and territories, will enable us to expand data to include a broader set of prescribed drugs for the population in Canada. Our partnership with CDA-AMC will enhance their well-established expertise in real-world evidence leading to improved patient care.”

-Brent Diverty, Vice-President, Data Strategies and Statistics, Canadian Institute for Health Information

About Canada’s Drug Agency

Canada’s Drug Agency is a pan-Canadian health organization, created and funded by Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments.

We provide Canada’s health system leaders with independent evidence and advice so they can make informed drug, health technology, and health system decisions, and we collaborate with national and international partners to enhance our collective impact.

About CIHI

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing essential health information to all Canadians.

CIHI works closely with federal, provincial and territorial partners and stakeholders throughout Canada to gather, package and disseminate information to inform policy, management, care and research, leading to better and more equitable health outcomes for all Canadians.

Health information has become one of society’s most valuable public goods. For more than 30 years, CIHI has set the pace on data privacy, security, accessibility and innovation to improve Canada’s health systems.

CIHI: Better data. Better decisions. Healthier Canadians.