Case Studies

An NIH study of treatments for high blood pressure, called the ALLHAT trial, shows some of the strengths and limitations of comparative effectiveness research to improve patient care. More...

Recent Blog Posts

Tony Coelho Discusses Patient Care with Former HHS Secretary
February 3, 2012 |

On Tuesday night, PIPC Chairman Tony Coelho joined former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson at the University of Charleston in West Virginia for a speaker series titled "Who Decides Patient Treatments" to discuss the future of health care in the United States.

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PCORI Releases their Draft Priorities
January 30, 2012 |

PCORI released a draft of their National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda for public comment. The PCORI Board, which is responsible for funding research, is asking for a 55 day public comment period to discuss and solicit feedback from patients, caregivers, professionals, and the general public on the research priorities.

In the draft, PCORI prioritized five broad research areas:

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Differentiating Patients, Consumers, and Patient Advocacy Organizations
October 18, 2011 |

When conducting Comparative Effectiveness Research it is crucial to understand the differences between the players involved in the process. In his remarks at the  2nd Annual Forum on Achieving Patient centeredness , Marc Boutin, executive vice president and COO at the National Health Council, discussed the important differences between the three major players in the process: the patient, the consumer, and the patient advocacy organization. He stated that many times when the patient is discussed they are not defined.

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June 2010

Tony Coelho's recent speech on patient centered CER

Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 20:51 | Posted in:

Below: PIPC Chairman Tony Coelho's recent speech on patient centered CER. The speech was delivered on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at the Alliance for Specialty Medicine's “Capitol Hill Advocacy Conference,” in Washington, D.C.

Lack of support for "evidence-based health care"— don't blame the patient

Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 15:31 | Posted in:

A new Health Affairs article concludes, based on focus groups and interviews, that "consumers will revolt if evidence-based efforts are perceived as rationing or as a way to deny them needed treatment."

You don't need to look any further than public reaction to the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force's updated recommendations on mammography screening to see the proof of this.
 
How should policy-makers react? Should they conclude that consumers, and even more so, patients, cannot be relied on to make evidence-based decisions, and therefore these decisions need to be made for them? Or should they conclude that evidence-based models of medical care and health delivery need to be carefully constructed so they have the trust and support of patients and consumers?

Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute will help find health care outcomes that WAPO op-ed writers seek

Submitted by Tony Coelho on Wed, 06/02/2010 - 19:06 | Posted in:

On Saturday, May 22, The Washington Post published my letter to the editor on the opportunity we have in CER to answer the full range of questions that are important to improving patient care and health care quality. The letter responded to a commentary from physicians Jim Yong Kim and James N. Weinstein, who called for a research program to help us learn about what works best in health care delivery and patient management.  

This is just one of the important strengths of the comparative effectiveness research (CER) provisions of the healthcare reform law.