Comparative effectiveness: its role in the healthcare system.
OBJECTIVE
To describe comparative effectiveness and assess its role in crafting new healthcare policy.


RESULTS
Senate Bill S.3408 would establish a nongovernment-affiliated Healthcare Comparative Effectiveness Research Institute that would work with healthcare experts and stakeholders in healthcare to prioritize interventions and services to be studied. A value-based medicine system of standardized comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness data using utilities would allow physicians to assess the total value (improvement in quality of life and/or length of life) conferred by interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
Standardized comparativeness and cost-effectiveness data will give physicians an information system to identify the interventions that confer the greatest value to patients, and thus deliver higher quality care than possible with evidence-based data alone while allowing the most cost-effective care.
Center for Value-Based Medicine, Flourtown, PA, USA. lissa1011@gmail.com
Melissa M
MM
Brown
Betsy
B
Luo
Heidi C
HC
Brown
Gary C
GC
Brown
D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D014481:United States