AHRQ National Advisory Council will meet next week to provide an update on the agency’s current research, programs and initiatives. The AHRQ National Advisory Council provides advice to AHRQ’s director and to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on matters related to AHRQ.  In particular, it is expected that the council will discuss it’s role in the HRQ comparative effectiveness research program.

See the full press release about the April 3rd meeting here.

Comparative Effectiveness in the News

Stimulus Funds Will Boost ‘Comparative’ Health Research

Study Found Cheap Blood Pressure Meds Are Best. No One Cared

Meet the members of the newly formed Comparative Effectiveness Panel named by HHS. The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, was established to oversee and manage $1.1 billion in research funds allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition, the council is charged with making recommendations to the HHS about different treatment options, surgical procedures, therapies and medications. The overall goal is to provide doctors and patients with the best information possible to make better and informed healthcare choices.

The 15 person Comparative Effectiveness Council are:

• Carolyn Clancy, a physician, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Rear Adm. Peter Delany, director of the office of applied studies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
• Ezekiel Emanuel, a physician who is special adviser on healthcare with the Office of Management and Budget.
• Jesse Goodman, a physician who is acting chief medical officer at the Food and Drug Administration.
• Garth Graham, a physician who is deputy assistant secretary for minority health in the Office of Minority Health.
• Anne Haddix, a physician who is chief policy officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Deborah Parham Hopson, associate administrator of the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration.
• David Hunt, a physician who is chief medical officer in the Office of the National Coordinator.
• Michael Kilpatrick, a physician who is director of strategic communications for the Military Health System.
• Joel Kupersmith, a physician who is chief research and development officer of the Veterans Health Administration.
• Michael Marge, acting director of the Office on Disability.
• Elizabeth Nabel, a physician who is director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute within the NIH.
• Jim Scanlon, acting deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
• Neera Tanden, counselor for health reform at HHS.
• Tom Valuck, a physician who is medical officer and a senior adviser at the CMS

Comparative Effectiveness: Is Obama Really Calling for Rationing?

The American College of Physicians website (www.acponline.org) announced that the past president of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and current editor of Annals of Internal Medicine, Harold C. Sox, MD, MACP, has been named to chair the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research Priorities.

Read more about Dr. Sox’s Appointment as Chair of the IOM’s Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research Priorities.

Andrew R. Spiegel, Chief Executive officer of the Colon Cancer Alliance,  Ilyse Schuman, managing director, Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance; and James H. Thrall, chairman, American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors made a great case (more like a plea) to Medicare officials to reconsider their initial coverage denial for a virtual colonoscopy screening – a tool which the authors “maintain could contribute to saving both lives and health care dollars”. We are encouraged by this kind of dialogue and hope more cases are made to consider the benefits of both comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness research.

Click here to read the letter to the Editor:  The Cost-Effectiveness of Virtual Colonoscopies

Comparative Effectiveness in the News

• The Appropriate Role Of Cost-Effectiveness In Determining Device Coverage: A Case Study Of Drug-Eluting Stents, Health Affairs
• A Hurdle for Health Reform: Patients and Their Doctors, The New York Times
  
• Drug Makers Fight Stimulus Provision, Wall Street Journal
• Obama’s Stimulus Bill Could Bring Euro-Style HTA to the US, Clinica World Medical Technology News
• Comparative Effectiveness Bill to Hit Senate, FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin
• Bill Would Create Center For Comparative Effectiveness, Drug Topics
• Whose Opinions Did the New York Times Publish on Comparative Effectiveness Research? Health Care Renewal
• U.S. Stimulus Plan Would Pour Billions into Health
• Senate Appropriations Cmte. Clarifies Comparative Effectiveness Language, The Pink Sheet

Ever since the passage of the recent economic stimulus package there has been more and more discussions about the prospects of the government establishing a new Center for Comparative Effectiveness.

Be a part of the discussion…

Developing a Center for Comparative Effectiveness

The Obama Administration’s Options for Health Care Cost Control: Hope vs. Reality

Comparative Effectiveness Resource Center

Uwe E. Reinhardt, Economics Professor at Princeton published this story in the New York Times – a good read but be sure to check out the comments section as well.

‘Cost-Effectiveness Analysis’ and U.S. Health Care’