The Case for Increased Funding of Comparative Effectiveness Research

Summary

GlobalData's new report, "The US Government's Financial Support to Push Comparative Effectiveness Research," explores the US medical equipment industry and the intricacies of the economic stimulus bill. The US Congress in the early part of 2009 made available $1.1 billion in funds for comparative effectiveness research as part of its economic stimulus program. The main goal of comparative effectiveness research is to bring down the costs of drugs, devices and treatments and make them available to all the patients. Comparative effectiveness research provides relative positives and negatives of different treatment options for the same disease condition. Such research provides physicians and patients with information on which to base their clinical decisions.

The healthcare industry and patients alike contend that cost alone shouldn't be the only criteria in deciding the treatment options for patients. Research may help save costs in the short term but eventually in the long run the costs are going to escalate further as patients do not receive the right treatment for their medical condition. Decisions should be based on overall effectiveness of a drug, device or treatment rather than on cost alone. Imposition of cost constraints may lead to worse patients' conditions and more importantly increases the healthcare costs in the long term.

Comparative effectiveness research needs to expand its focus to studies that encompass all aspects of the health care delivery system rather than just concentrating on drugs, biologics and devices. The research should include preventative services, emergency response and diagnostic tests to reflect the various components of the overall healthcare delivery system.

Scope
   -- Insights into the medical equipment industry in the US
   -- Analysis of government initiatives and incentives such as economic
      stimulus program as part of the healthcare reforms
   -- Review of key factors of the economic stimulus package and the
      effect on the US medical equipment industry

Reasons to buy
   -- Develop business strategies with the help of specific insights from
      GlobalData on key events within the medical equipment industry.
   -- Gain a strong understanding and analyze goverment initiatives in
      the US medical equipment industry
   -- Identify growth opportunities and possible challenges expected to
      emergy within the medical equipment industry in the US due to the
      government financial reforms

Topics covered in the report include...
1 Table of Contents
      1.1 List of Tables
      1.2 List of Figures
2 GlobalData Viewpoint
      2.1 Summary
3 The US Government's Financial Support to Push Comparative Effectiveness
Research
      3.1 The US Congress to Provide $1.1 billion To Assess the
          Comparative Effectiveness of Diagnosis, Treatment and Strategies
      3.1.1 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to Spend $300 m on
            Research Related to Medical Interventions
      3.1.2 National Institute of Health to Spend $400 m on Scientific
            Research and Development
      3.1.3 Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to Spend
            $400 m to Compliment AHRQ and NIH
      3.2 Controlling Healthcare Costs is the Rationale behind Comparative
          Effectiveness Research
      3.3 Healthcare Industry's Concerns on Comparative Effectiveness
          Research
      3.4 Patients Suggestions on Implementation of Comparative
          Effectiveness Research
4 Appendix
      4.1 GlobalData Research Methodology
      4.2 Secondary Research
      4.3 Primary Research
      4.4 Models
      4.5 Forecasts
      4.6 Expert Panel Validation
      4.7 Currency Conversion
      4.8 Contact Us
      4.9 Disclaimer
1.1 List of Tables
      Table 1: Growth in Percent of Population Over the Age of 65 Years
      Table 2: USD to Local Currency, Average Exchange Rate 2008
1.2 List of Figures
      Figure 1: Health Expenditures, By Expenditure Type (%), US, 2007
      Figure 2: GlobalData Methodology

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