Is CER Having an Impact on Health Care Decision-Making?

In a newly published Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research commentary, NPC Vice President for Health Services Research Kimberly Westrich highlights the sixth year results of NPC’s annual survey, “Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) and the Environment for Health Care Decision-Making.” The survey measures health care stakeholders’ views on CER and its potential impact on health care decision-making.

Ms. Westrich states that the 2016 results made it even clearer that stakeholders are unwavering in the belief that CER is important, but its impact is still on the horizon. The results show that most respondents foresee a moderate or substantial improvement in health care decision-making due to CER in three years (78%) and even more (92%) in five years.

She notes, “It is perhaps not surprising that in a span of six years, change in something as broadly significant as health care decision-making is gradual.” Since the effects of CER aren’t expected to be realized until further in the future, respondents were asked – for the first time – about what changes they believe will increase its impact. The top three included:

1. Better translation of CER results into actionable recommendations (59%);
2. Increased infrastructure and resources for decision-makers to use CER results (43%); and
3. Improving the relevance of CER questions (40%).

Gauging the role that patient groups play in the CER enterprise was another new consideration in the 2016 survey. Stakeholders expected patient groups to play a key role in establishing priorities for research, along with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health.

Another notable insight from this year’s results: a statistically significant increase in how many stakeholders expressed optimism about a growing movement toward widely agreed-upon research standards, which would provide more consistency in the conduct and evaluation of CER.

Ms. Westrich concludes, “The findings from the 2016 survey echo and reinforce the conclusions drawn from the first five years of the survey. Change is slow and gradual in any endeavor which is as large and significant as health care decision-making, and the yet unrealized potential of CER to have a significant impact depends critically on an intensified focus on translation, dissemination and real-world application of research results.”

The complete results and survey instrument are available on NPC’s website, along with an infographic that summarizes the results.