Health Technology Expert Review Panel

The Health Technology Expert Review Panel (HTERP) is an advisory body to Canada’s Drug Agency, convened to develop guidance and/or recommendations on non-drug health technologies to inform a range of stakeholders within the Canadian health care system.

The HTERP approach is evidence-based and uses a multi-criteria framework that considers the strength and quality of available clinical evidence; the strength and quality of available economic information; current practices and resource utilization patterns; and other factors including, but not limited to, patient input and practical, ethical, environmental, and psychosocial considerations.

HTERP consists of six Core Members appointed to serve for all topics under consideration. In addition, specialists will be appointed on a per-project basis to provide subject matter expertise on specific topics. Core Members include individuals with qualifications in evidence-based medicine and/or critical appraisal, including a Chair, an ethicist, a health economist, a health care practitioner, and one Public Member who represents the broad public interest.

HTERP reports to the President and CEO of Canada’s Drug Agency. Committee members must abide by the Conflict of Interest Policy and guidelines for Expert Committee and Panel Members, and our Code of Conduct. An honorarium is paid to the Health Technology Expert Review members for their preparation and meeting time.

HTERP Terms of Reference

HTERP Process

Conflict of Interest Guidelines

Code of Conduct

Chair

Leslie Anne Campbell, PhD, RN

Dr. Leslie Anne Campbell is the inaugural Sobey Family Chair in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes and an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and School of Nursing at Dalhousie University. She has a clinical background in mental health nursing (BScN, University of Toronto) and research training in epidemiology (MSc, Dalhousie University) and health services research (Interdisciplinary PhD, Dalhousie University).

Dr. Leslie Anne Campbell is the inaugural Sobey Family Chair in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes and an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and School of Nursing at Dalhousie University. She has a clinical background in mental health nursing (BScN, University of Toronto) and research training in epidemiology (MSc, Dalhousie University) and health services research (Interdisciplinary PhD, Dalhousie University).

Leslie Anne’s research interests include patient-centred mental health outcomes, patient engagement, population screening, simulation modelling, secondary data analysis, and health technology assessment. She works closely with the IWK Health Centre’s Mental Health and Addictions program to ensure optimal child and youth mental health outcomes through the incorporation of routine patient-oriented outcome measurements to support evidence-based clinical, administrative, and policy decision-making. Leslie Anne’s work has been supported by the IWK Foundation, the Nova Scotia Health Research Fund and Research Nova Scotia, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Members

Lawrence Mbuagbaw, MD, MPH, PhD

Dr. Lawrence Mbuagbaw is a research methods scientist (clinical epidemiology and biostatistics). He trained at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (FMBS) in Cameroon (MD; 2005), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (MPH; 2009), and McMaster University (PhD in Health Research Methodology; 2014). He is an associate professor at McMaster University, where he teaches courses in biostatistics and randomized trials; an associate professor extraordinary of epidemiology and biostatistics at Stellenbosch University; and a research methods scientist at the Research Institute of St Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton (SJHH) where he provides methodological and statistical support for other St Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton (SJHH) where he provides methodological and statistical support for other researchers as the director of the Biostatistics Unit.

This includes research questions formulation, study design, data analysis, and reporting. He is the principal investigator of numerous research projects covering a wide variety of research designs, including evidence syntheses, randomized trials, mixed-methods studies, and qualitative studies. He is also the Co-Director of Cochrane Cameroon. He has authored more than 290 peer-reviewed publications and technical reports for national and international institutions. His research interests are infectious diseases, mother-and-child health, mHealth, health systems strengthening, and intersections of these fields. In recognition of his work, he was recently conferred the title of University Scholar.

Lawrence has served on various committees, including the World Health Organization Guideline Development Group, working on HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis guidelines; G-I-N‒Guidelines International Network Africa and the Cochrane Africa network; the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study; the ACCHO‒African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN); and the Adherence Expert Review Panel of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Brian Chan, BSc, MSc, PhD   

Brian is an affiliate scientist at KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, and is an assistant professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. Prior to entering academia, Brian was a health economist for Health Quality Ontario and a research assistant at the Health Outcomes and PharmacoEconomics Research Centre.

Brian’s research focuses on economic analyses and health technology assessment for individuals requiring rehabilitation, including those with spinal cord injuries and dementia.

At IHPME, Brian is grateful to be a co-lead for the health technology assessment emphasis in the Health Systems Research graduate program.

Duncan Steele, MA, MHA

Duncan is Alberta Health Services’ Organizational Ethicist. His role includes supporting the Executive Leadership Team in resource allocation, leading policy-level decision-making, and active work on varied projects and standing committees.

He has a background in philosophy (BA, University of British Columbia), applied ethics (MA, Applied Ethics, Utrecht University), and health administration (MHA, University of British Columbia).

From 2018 to 2021, he was appointed as Health Ethicist to British Columbia’s Health Technology Assessment Committee, the joint Ministry of Health and Health Authorities entity that makes recommendations on the public provision of health technologies in British Columbia. Prior to his appointment with HTERP, he provided ethics analyses for Health Technology Assessments as an author and reviewer, and was an ad hoc expert consultant to other departments from 2017 to 2022.

Duncan’s experience in ethics spans contexts across the health spectrum, including budgeting, organizational planning, workforce, pandemic response, drug formulary, medical devices, investment and disinvestment, and health technology assessment.

Sandor Demeter, BSc, MSc, MHSc, MD, FRCPC 

Dr. Demeter received his BSc (1986) and MD (1989) from the University of Saskatchewan and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC) in Community Medicine and Public Health (1994). He also received a Master of Health Science in Community Health and Epidemiology (1993) from the University of Toronto, became an FRCPC in Nuclear Medicine (2002), and received an MSc (2004) from the University of Alberta. Most recently, he received an MSc in Health Physics (2016) from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. 

Sandor’s career includes a decade working in public health and more than a decade in clinical nuclear medicine. He has held a number of senior medical and academic administrative positions. He is currently a staff nuclear medicine physician in Winnipeg. Sandor is also an associate professor at the University of Manitoba College of Medicine. He has served as a commission member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and as a committee member with the ICRP‒International Commission on Radiological Protection. Sandor’s main research interests include public health aspects of ionizing radiation, health technology assessment, and health policy.

He has been involved in various projects with Canada’s Drug Agency, as we have evolved over the past 3 decades.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Dr. Tasleem Nimjee

Dr. Tasleem Nimjee is an Emergency Physician at Humber River Hospital — North America’s first fully digital hospital. She served as the hospital’s inaugural Chief Medical Innovation Officer (CMIO), the first physician in such a role in Canada. She has developed innovation governance, contributed to the establishment of a new digital health research institute and is a founding member of a provincial women’s CMIO table. She has led digital transformation and health information systems implementation projects at multiple organizations.

Dr. Nimjee has served in various hospital administration and public health leadership roles. She was appointed Physician Lead for Humber River Hospital's COVID-19 Pandemic Response and was later called upon to represent 5 large regional hospitals at the province of Ontario’s Incident Management Systems table.

Dr. Nimjee is a passionate, service-oriented leader who dedicates her time and knowledge to the larger community. She consults with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)’s digital transformation and electronic health records implementation steering committees. Her participation enables the Aga Khan University and Health Services Network to benefit from the expertise of global leaders in the introduction of EHR systems in low and-middle-income countries.

Dr. Nimjee has been featured in Toronto Life Magazine as one of The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2020 along with 5 other outstanding front-line workers in the number one spot. She has appeared on numerous media outlets to keep the public informed on emergency medicine and other health related topics. Dr. Nimjee received her Bachelor and Master of Science at McMaster University, followed by her Doctor of Medicine and specialty training at the University of Toronto. She is currently pursuing her executive MBA through a joint program at the Kellogg School of Management and the Schulich School of Business. Her areas of focus are in transformational leadership and the application of scalable digital technologies to improve access to quality care.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Prachi Khanna

Prachi Khanna is a graduate student at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she is working toward her Master of Science in epidemiology. Prachi Khanna completed her undergraduate studies (B.Sc., Biology) and a professional certification in infection prevention and control at the University of British Columbia.

Prachi Khanna brings a strong background and interest in health systems, health care decision-making, and a patient-centred approach. With curiosity and a strong desire to ask better questions about how things work, Prachi Khanna is committed to bridging gaps through cross-functional collaboration with research and initiatives that are situated regionally and across Canada. Prachi Khanna serves on the Executive Steering Committee for Critical Care BC’s health improvement network and facilitates interprofessional health education at 2 faculties of medicine on pertinent topics.

Conflict of Interest Statement