From the November 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


PCORI’s research mission is “intended to give patients a better understanding of the prevention, treatment and care options available, and the science that supports those options,” according to the institute’s website.
Charged with making regular reports of its findings, PCORI is restricted from making recommendations to Medicare or private insurers about what treatments they can cover — the same holds true for AHRQ.

“Section 1013 of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 requires AHRQ to disseminate the findings of the research to prescription drug plans to enhance patient safety and the quality of health care,” explains Slutsky. “However, it also directly states that ‘the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not use data obtained in accordance with this section to withhold coverage of a prescription drug.’”
A May 13 New York Times editorial took issue with this restriction, calling it “shortsighted” in detailing recent reports that new evidence reviews show a cheaper medication, Avastin, is just as effective as a more expensive drug, Lucentis, in treating the eye condition macular degeneration. “Medicare could save hundreds of millions of dollars annually if doctors used Avastin. But, as the system now works, Medicare cannot push doctors to switch.”

Despite reports like these, one year after its development there are signs from the health care community that PCORI’s work is appreciated. An editorial in October’s New England Journal of Medicine reads, “the importance of PCORI’s work…cannot be overstated…the institute is poised to lead a national movement that meaningfully involves patients and incorporates their voices in producing trusted, evidence-based information, promoting better decisions and ultimately better health for all.”

According to AHRQ, the research is indeed reaching its intended audience.
“The Effective Health Care Program has been very well received in the health care community by clinicians, policy makers and patients,” says Slutsky.
The growing number of organizations that share AHRQ’s evidence reviews and increasingly use AHRQ reports to inform clinical guideline development or policy decisions are evidence of the program’s success, she adds.

“All signs point to the consumer publications being very popular as well,” Slutsky says. AHRQ has distributed more than 1 million print consumer guides, and PDFs of the English and Spanish guides have been accessed more than 170,000 times over the past two years.

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