Employer, Insurer, and Industry Perspectives on Patient-Centered Comparative Effectiveness Research: Final Report

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization authorized under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and funded by Congress to help close the gaps in research needed to improve key health outcomes. To do this, PCORI identifies critical research questions, funds patient-centered comparative effectiveness research (CER), and strives to disseminate the results in ways that stakeholders, including patients, providers, health insurance purchasers, payers, and industry, will find useful. PCORI commissioned RAND and the National Pharmaceutical Council to conduct an independent study of the health-related decisions, information needs, understanding and use of CER, and opportunities for involvement of these three stakeholder communities in CER. RAND conducted ten telephone and Web-enabled focus groups involving representatives from all three communities. This article describes the key themes emerging from those discussions and presents implications for PCORI's work.