Center on Health Care Effectiveness Forum Archives: 2010

Putting Evidence into Action: The Essential Component of Health Care Reform
December 9, 2010

Presentation:

Webinar recording
PowerPoint presentation (PDF)
Issue brief: "Using Comparative Effectiveness Research: Information Alone Won’t Lead to Successful Health Care Reform"

Participants:

Ann Bonham, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Association of American Medical Colleges
Dominick Esposito, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Assistant Director, Center on Health Care Effectiveness, Mathematica
Timothy Lake, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Mathematica

Hoangmai H. Pham, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Adviser, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Eugene Rich, M.D., Director, Center on Health Care Effectiveness, Senior Fellow, Mathematica

Overview: As health care reform unfolds, science will need to answer many questions about how to get comparative effectiveness research (CER) into use at the point of care. A new issue brief from Mathematica’s Center on Health Care Effectiveness, "Using Comparative Effectiveness Research: Information Alone Won’t Lead to Successful Health Care Reform," addresses significant challenges in realizing the potential of CER. These challenges include coordinating the many existing efforts that are under way; improving the research infrastructure and defining appropriate CER research methodology; involving the full range of health care decision makers, including consumers; and recognizing that information alone will not change health care. Once completed, the research must be disseminated and implemented to change health care practice and improve outcomes.

Politics and Policy of Comparative Effectiveness: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
September 9, 2010

Presentation:

Webinar recording (not available)
PowerPoint presentation (PDF)
Issue brief

Participants:

Shawn Bishop, Democratic Staff, U.S. Senate Finance Committee
Stephen Cha, M.D., Professional Staff Member, House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce
Beth Docteur, Vice President & Director of Policy Analysis, Center for Studying Health System Change

Eugene Rich, M.D., Director, Center on Health Care Effectiveness, Senior Fellow, Mathematica
Jean Slutsky, Director, Center for Outcomes and Evidence, AHRQ
Sean Tunis, M.D., Director, Center for Medical Technology Policy

Overview: Interest in comparative effectiveness research (evaluating which health care interventions work best under what circumstances) has surged in recent years. In an era of rising health care spending, policymakers seek tools to moderate the cost of public entitlement programs and to facilitate affordable coverage expansions. Health care reform included a major new initiative on comparative effectiveness research, but a number of important questions were deferred to another time. This forum discussed four ongoing policy challenges relevant to the successful implementation of comparative effectiveness research: funding, appropriate use, direction of the enterprise, and proper scope.