Comparative-effectiveness research: does it matter?

For several years there has been a vigorous policy debate on comparative effectiveness research (CER). This debate has focused on whether more evidence should be gathered, and who should be doing the funding and developing of evidence. There has been less emphasis on implementation of CER findings, and examining whether CER has or will have an impact on prescribing patterns, reimbursement, health outcomes, and health care spending.

This paper addresses both empirical and normative aspects of CER in terms of its impact on prescribing, reimbursement, cost-containment, and health outcomes.

A significant gap persists between the best available evidence on therapeutic effectiveness and tolerability and typical patterns of prescribing care, as well as patient choices. Consequently, there is room for building a more systematic evidence base in the United States, so that policymakers are better equipped to understand variation in clinical outcomes while promoting appropriate prescribing and reimbursement patterns.

The author carried out a non-systematic literature review of both empirical and normative aspects pertaining to CER and its policy implications. Keywords for the Medline search were "comparative effectiveness research" and "policy implications."

CER has a modest impact on prescribing, reimbursement, cost-containment, and health outcomes. This impact will likely intensify as funding increases and novel models to steer prescribing and reimbursement choices incorporate comparative-effectiveness evidence.