Partnership to Improve Patient Care

Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) Chairman Tony Coelho was quoted in an Inside Health Policy article this week discussing his concerns on the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) plans to build a CER inventory before the creation of the Patient Centered Outcomes and Research Institute, an independent board that will facilitate CER research.

As is explained in the article, entitled Stakeholders: HHS Planning Shop's CER Plan May Undermine Health Law's Institute, PIPC believes that “HHS should develop its plans for a CER inventory jointly with the new PCORI created by the reform law.”

Mr. Coelho said that HHS’ plan leads “people to question the agency's motives and wonder what exactly they're trying to achieve” adding that “this is not some frivolous argument or disagreement. PIPC fought to get everyone at the table and “we don't want HHS to take our vote away.”

An article from Articlebase.com reminds that due to the PCORI board, CER is being “embraced by public and private healthcare stakeholders as a leading solution to rising healthcare costs, poor quality, and safety concerns.” Hopefully HHS will include the PCORI board in its plans to build their CER inventory so stakeholders will trust that their say in CER decision making is real and continue to “embrace CER” in the future.

Also writing about CER this week was Jessie Gruman, who took to CFAH’s blog to discuss important points about the need for CER decision makers to remember that CER tests are based on broad averages and therefore cannot properly represent all patients. She also pressed the importance of the “active participation” of patients during the CER decision making progress.