The Neglected Purpose of Comparative-Effectiveness Research

Abstract

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law an initiative providing $1.1 billion to support research on the comparative effectiveness of drugs, medical devices, surgical procedures, and other treatments for various conditions. This comparative-effectiveness research (CER) initiative has generated considerable controversy. Industry and free-market advocates have expressed concerns about the role of cost-effectiveness analyses within CER and subsequent governmental intrusion into doctor–patient decisions.Despite such controversy, the broad consensus is that although the amount of funding the federal government provides for research is already large, the translation of this investment into practice, enabling new laboratory discoveries to reach . . .