tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047195573424044176.post2241609608283876670..comments2023-10-30T04:42:55.912-07:00Comments on JRG Health & Human Services Policy Update: Comparative-Effectiveness Research: How Many Lives Will It Cost?John R. Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420909459359064358noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047195573424044176.post-54395541838631075462011-06-02T17:35:45.977-07:002011-06-02T17:35:45.977-07:00Well, John--there are concrete reasons why the CER...Well, John--there are concrete reasons why the CER idea will be bad for the public. Think about the makeup of the committee--some 15 people. No matter how many staff they have, most of them will have to read something. How many different diseases and procedures are there? Let<br />'s just say between 10,000 and 25,000.<br />If they try to be rigorous, they'll ask for the kind of professional research that is contracted out, and reported back in an academically pure fashion. How much time will that take? Add on the obligatory comments from the affected professional societies, so that another year goes by. At best 3 years per diagnosis or procedure. (It will cost real money to do this, too.) In the meantime, the science isn't standing still. What will happen is a kind of mudpie. People will be slogging through for an answer, all the while knowing that it will be obsolete when it comes out. But the most terrible thing is that it will stand as an answer until the next funding cycle, so that gradually the knowledge capital of healthcare will be eroded. Politicians believe that the best methods will be identified and will prevail. No, the methods considered standard by the current publishers of standards and protocols will prevail.<br /><br />We are in the hot bed of genetics research; I dare the CER people to do an honest comparative of cancer treatments against honest to God genetic cures. Imagine protecting future patients from chemo--a true debilitating set of drugs.Wanda Jones, President, NCHIhttp://wandahealth@earthlink.netnoreply@blogger.com