On Friday, April 4, 2008 the Society attended a briefing, sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform, on Comparative Effectiveness Research. The panel included representatives from AdvaMed, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Director of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) study on comparative effectiveness research.

Because of rising health care expenditures, Congress is increasingly interested in proposals that promise to improve the quality of patient care, while making care more cost-efficient. Comparative effectiveness research would compare the outcomes of various treatments for the same condition. The findings of such comparison could be used to better inform clinical care, but could also be used to restrict reimbursement/coverage of certain services.

Both the House of Representatives and Senate are considering comparative effectiveness proposals for possible inclusion in a larger Medicare package. This package would likely include a provision addressing the July 1, 2008 physician payment cuts.

While all the panel members agreed that the knowledge obtained through comparative effectiveness research could allow providers and patients to avoid ineffective or wasteful treatments, panelists disagreed on whether the outcomes of comparative effectiveness research should be used to make coverage determinations.

The panel also discussed possible funding sources and other factors which would influence the make-up of an entity devoted to this type of research.