The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has named a 15-member Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research to help coordinate research and guide investments in comparative effectiveness research funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“Comparative effectiveness research can improve care for all Americans and is an important element of President Obama’s health reform plan,” said HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus. “The Coordinating Council will host open meetings and a listening session as it begins its important work.”
Comparative effectiveness research provides information on the relative strengths and weakness of various medical interventions. The Obama administration hopes such research will give clinicians and patients valid information to make decisions that will improve the performance of the U.S. healthcare system
The council will assist the agencies of the federal government, including HHS and the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, as well as others, to coordinate comparative effectiveness and related health services research.
The Recovery Act authorized $300 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, $400 million for the National Institutes of Health, and $400 million for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support comparative effectiveness research.
The council will not recommend clinical guidelines for payment, coverage or treatment, but will consider the needs of populations served by federal programs and opportunities to build and expand on current investments and priorities.
It will also provide input on priorities for the $400 million fund in the Recovery Act that the HHS Secretary will allocate to advance this type of research.
Most of the council’s members are clinicians. The council plans to hold a public listening session on April 14, 2009.