Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES) Partnership

Providing rapid evidence-based responses to questions about medications prescribed in Canada

CNODES is a national network of provincial/regional centres that provide rapid evidence-based responses to questions about the safety and effectiveness of medications prescribed in Canada. These studies enable CNODES to respond rapidly to questions raised by Health Canada, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, and provincial Ministries of Health when evaluating and monitoring prescription drug usage, safety, and effectiveness.

CNODES uses population databases from eight Canadian provinces and two international databases (UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and US MarketScan), which include more than 100 million patients. The Post-Market Drug Evaluation Program connects a network of external experts in applied research, drug evaluation methodology, and data analysis from across Canada.

The Health Quality Council is the Saskatchewan site of the national CNODES network. There are also offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Each lab conducts research independently, but study results inform a collective response to overarching research queries.

The Health Quality Council’s CNODES team has been involved on projects regarding:

• The use of systemic oral fluoroquinolones in Canada
• Direct oral anticoagulants for the treatment of venous thromboembolic events
• The utilization and comparative effectiveness of rheumatoid arthritis medications
• The utilization and adverse outcomes of ondansetron and fluconazole therapy during pregnancy
• The utilization, effectiveness, and safety of SGLT2 inhibitors among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

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