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Evidence to Improve Care

Reviews and Recommendations

To promote health care supported by the best evidence, we use established scientific methods to analyze evidence and develop assessments of new and existing health care services and medical devices.

These reviews, called health technology assessments, also include recommendations on whether these services and devices should be publicly funded. As of September 2024, the rate of acceptance of recommendations to the Ministry of Health on medical devices and health-care services since is 80%. The rate of implementation/adoption of accepted recommendations is 100%. The annual rate of acceptance for FY 2023-24 is 40%.

Search below for our health technology assessments. For further information, please contact us at OH-HQO_info@ontariohealth.ca.

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Before being finalized, each health technology assessment is posted for feedback for 21 days. All feedback received within that 21-day consultation period is taken into consideration when developing final reports and recommendations. For further information, please contact us at OH-HQO_info@ontariohealth.ca.

The following topics have been deferred as they do not meet the criteria for a health technology assessment at this time. Click here to learn more.

Percutaneous Vertebroplasty and Balloon Kyphoplasty for Painful Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures
Project start date: March 2024 Status: In Development
Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are procedures performed under local or general anesthesia that inject cement into osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures in the spine. These procedures are for people who have severe ongoing pain after a recent osteoporotic vertebral fracture despite optimal pain management, and in whom the pain has been confirmed to be at the level of the fracture by physical examination and imaging.
Project start date: November 2023 Status: In Development, Open for Feedback
Interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is a blood test that measures an immune system response to the tuberculosis-causing bacteria. Testing people helps identify who would most benefit from treatments, and IGRA testing may be considered as an acceptable alternative to the traditional tuberculin skin test. Disclaimer: This assessment is presented in unedited form.
Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging in Colorectal Surgery
Project start date: October 2023 Status: In Development
Indocyanine green (ICG) is a fluorescent dye that can be used with an imaging system to allow surgeons to visualize tissue perfusion in real-time, intraoperatively. Among its uses, ICG fluorescence imaging can be used for the visualization of anastomotic perfusion during colorectal resections.
Noninvasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Cluster Headache and Migraine
Project start date: July 2023 Status: In Development
Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation involves the use of a device to stimulate the vagus nerve through the skin with electrical impulses. It can be used to treat cluster headache and migraine and is administered by the patient at home. Estimated publication date: Fall 2024
Project start date: July 2023 Status: In Development
Peripheral nerve stimulation reduces pain by delivering a gentle electrical stimulation that targets the peripheral nerve to interrupt the pain signal. A thin thread-like lead is implanted beneath the skin next to the target peripheral nerve responsible for the pain. Patients then control the electrical stimulation using a small fob that replaces pain with a neutral sensation of tingling, helping with pain relief. Disclaimer: This assessment is presented in unedited form.
Project start date: June 2023 Status: In Development
Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound is a thermal ablation technology and a noninvasive technique for ablative neurosurgery for treatment-refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Sound waves create precise, targeted therapeutic lesions in the brain areas and circuits involved in OCD. Estimated publication date: Summer 2024
Project start date: March 2023 Status: In Development
Plasma-based comprehensive genomic profiling DNA assays are simple blood tests that can identify genomic alterations to guide treatment decisions in people with non–small cell lung cancer. Estimated publication date: Fall 2024
Project start date: March 2023 Status: In Development
Single-exposure, dual-energy subtraction (DES) flat panel x-ray detectors produce a conventional x-ray image plus a DES soft tissue (bone-subtracted) x-ray image and a DES bone (soft tissue–subtracted) X-ray image. The aim is to minimize limitations with anatomical overlap experienced with conventional x-ray. Estimated publication date: Fall 2024
DNA Methylation-Based Classification for Central Nervous System Tumours
Project start date: March 2023 Status: In Development
The DNA methylation-based classifier test is an algorithm-based test that uses genome-wide DNA methylation profiling results to more precisely classify central nervous system (CNS) tumours. The test helps with CNS tumour diagnosis and provides information that may inform patient prognosis and treatment decisions.

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