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Dr. Arthur T. Porter, Executive Director and CEO of the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Health Centre (MUHC), and Dr. Denis R. Roy, Directeur Général of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. James Brophy to the post of Director of the joint MUHC/CHUM Technology Assessment Unit (TAU). This nomination directly expresses the desire of the two university health centres to work in complementarity in order to achieve new levels of collaboration for further development of the Quebec health system.

The merger of the two TAU offices will unite important and complementary aspects of the two health centres. "It's a perfect partnership," says Dr. Brophy. "The MUHC and CHUM are very similar in terms of expertise, patients, values and ethics; it is evident that a joint TAU will benefit both institutions."

Dr. Brophy already possesses excellent knowledge of both the MUHC and the CHUM. After completing his cardiology training at Université de Montréal, Dr. Brophy obtained his doctorate in epidemiology at ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ. During his career he worked as a cardiologist at the Notre-Dame Hospital of the CHUM between 1997 and 2001, before being named Director of the MUHC TAU in 2001. Dr. Brophy continues to be involved in cardiology research and is funded by the Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ).

"It is increasingly important that hospital administrations are able to make informed decisions when purchasing new technologies such as drugs, procedures, medical devices and equipment," says Dr. Arthur T. Porter. "The TAU at the MUHC has already proven its value. By drawing on expertise from both health centres this new, joint program will strengthen our capacity to evaluate and recommend new technologies and therapies in a rigorous and timely way."

"For the CHUM, the TAU has been a key project in recent years and represents one of the five main aspects of the hospital's mission," says Dr. Denis R. Roy. "We believe that the experience Dr. Brophy has gained with the MUHC since 2001 will help the CHUM become a leader in this field as well as facilitate the harmonious integration of technology evaluations between the CHUM and the MUHC."

The ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Health Centre (MUHC) is a comprehensive academic health institution with an international reputation for excellence in clinical programs, research and teaching. The MUHC is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ — the Montreal Children's, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, and Montreal Neurological Hospitals, as well as the Montreal Chest Institute. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of the founding hospitals, the goal of the MUHC is to provide patient care based on the most advanced knowledge in the health care field, and to contribute to the development of new knowledge.

The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) is a university hospital centre that provides specialized and ultraspecialized services to a regional and supraregional clientele. also offers general and specialized hospital services for its immediate service area. These services, which contribute to teaching and research and to the evaluation of health care technologies and intervention methods, are provided on an integrated network basis. CHUM also contributes to the ongoing promotion of health through its front-line services. CHUM was formed with the merger of three Montreal hospitals: Hôtel-Dieu, Notre-Dame and Saint-Luc. CHUM's 10,000 employees, 900 doctors, 330 researchers, 5,000 students and trainees and 800 volunteers serve more than half a million patients every year.