title: Comparative effectiveness research in practice and policy for radiation oncology.
abstract: Interest in comparative effectiveness research (CER) has increased dramatically over the past decade, yet perceptions about what comprises CER varies. CER has several attributes relevant to practice and policy: (1) The goal of CER is to inform decisions about health care. (2) Literature synthesis is used in addition to primary research. (3) CER evaluates not only overall outcomes for the population but also evaluates subgroups that may have heterogeneous outcomes. (4) Research places an emphasis on outcomes in the "real-world" settings. (5) Outcomes studied should be relevant to patients. In radiation oncology, where many of the traditional clinical trials are comparative in nature, the line between CER and "traditional" research may be blurred, but an increased emphasis on CER can help to bridge the research enterprise and clinical practice, helping to inform decision making at the patient, clinician, and policy levels.
authors: Center for Outcomes and Evidence, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. Electronic address: William.lawrence@ahrq.hhs.gov.
authors: William F
authors: WF
authors: Lawrence
mesh_terms: D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States