Society for Medical Decision Making

December 2, 2009

The undersigned organizations – representing business, labor, consumers, researchers, health plans, physicians, nurses and other providers – urge the Senate to retain the Patient-Centered Outcomes/Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) provisions in health care reform, without crippling restrictions or amendments.

We believe that the nation needs a publicly supported comparative effectiveness research program. Comparative effectiveness research yields evidence that doctors and patients can use to make better treatment decisions. It save lives, improves health outcomes, makes care safer, and encourages the wise use of health care dollars. These benefits make comparative effectiveness research a critical component of health reform. Comparative effectiveness research also enhances “personalized medicine” by helping to inform doctors and patients about which treatment options work best for subsets of patients and individuals with unique medical circumstances.

We strongly urge the Senate to do the right thing for patients, clinicians, and the entire health system by assuring that comparative effectiveness research is retained in any reform legislation.

AARP
Aetna
AFL-CIO
Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation
American College of Cardiology (ACC)
American College of Physicians (ACP)
American Nurses Association
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
Association for Clinical Research Training
Association for Patient-Oriented Research
Better Health Care Together
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Campaign for Mental Health Reform
Center for Healthcare Decisions
Center for Medical Consumers
Childbirth Connection
Coalition for Health Services Research
Committee for Economic Development
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer’s Checkbook/Center for the Study of Services
Consumers Union
Clinical Research Forum
Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making
HealthCare Partners
Health Dialog
Health Care for All
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Pennsylvania
HR Policy Association
Leapfrog Group
Medical Rights Center
National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH)
National Business Group on Health (NBGH)
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
National Consumers League
National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF)
North Carolina Senior Citizens Association
North Carolina Consumer Advisory Council
Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH)
Prematics, Inc.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Society for Clinical and Translational Science
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society for Medical Decision Making

Individuals

David Dranove
Professor of Health Industry ManagementN
orthwestern University

David Durenberger
US Senate (1978-95)
Chair, National Institute of Health Policy
Opus College, University of St. Thomas

Lisa Fenichel
E-health Consumer Advocate

Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D.
Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine 

Michael Millenson
President, Health Quality Advisors, Inc. 

Dolores Mitchell
Executive Director
Group Insurance Commission
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Steven E. Nissen, M.D.
Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine
Cleveland Clinic

Jonathan Oberlander
Associate Professor, UNC-Chapel Hill

William L. Roper, MD
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Joel Shalowitz
Director, Health Industry Management
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University