Methods for Comparative Effectiveness Research/Patient-Centered Outcomes Research: From Efficacy to Effectiveness

GUEST EDITORS:

Sebastian Schneeweiss, MD, ScDJohn D. Seeger, PharmD, DrPHDivision of PharmacoepidemiologyDepartment of MedicineBrigham & Women’s HospitalHarvard Medical School1 Brigham Circle, Suite 3030Boston, MA 02120

Scott R. Smith, MSPH, PhDCenter for Outcomes & EvidenceAgency for Healthcare Research & QualityJohn M. Eisenberg Building540 Gaither RoadRockville, MD 20850

This journal supplement was funded through a research contract to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)DEcIDE Center by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). We wish to thank the ongoing sup-port and assistance of our AHRQ Task Order Officer in the Center for Outcomes and Evidence, Parivash Nourjah, PhD, who had an integral part in both the coordination of the symposium and the compilation of manuscripts for this supplement. In addition, we wish to thank Jean Slutsky, PA, MSPH, Director of the Center for Outcomes and Evidence at AHRQ for her support and contributions to the symposium.

We wish to acknowledge Sherine E. Gabriel, MD, MSc, William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Mayo Clinic and Chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) andAlbert Wu, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who pro-vided keynote addresses at the symposium, and Philip Wang, MD, DrPH, Deputy Director and Acting Scientific Director at the National Institute of Mental Health, who contributed to the keynote panel. We are grateful to our distinguished Scientific Planning Committee who provided valuable contributions to the content. Anirban Basu, PhD; Bruce Fireman, MA; and Harold Pincus, MD; Alan Ellis, PhD; Tobias Gerhard, PhD; and Robert Glynn, ScD, PhD also provided commentary through moderation.

Special thanks and recognition are due to our BWH colleagues. Elizabeth Robinson Garry, MPH, Project Man-ager of the BWH DEcIDE Methods Center managed the successful planning and execution of the symposium, WebEx broadcast, and coordination of this supplement and its review. Mary Kowal, BA, and Benjamin F. Smith, BA, BWH Research Assistants, also provided valuable aid to the planning and execution of the symposium.

We also wish to express our gratitude to the staff of the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. Peter Tugwell, MSc, MD, FRCPC, Co-Editor, and Jessie McGowan, PhD, Associate Editor, for their oversight and support. Laura Fitzpatrick, MA, Editorial Manager, for the management throughout the coordination of this supplement. Lastly, we thank the independent peer reviewers who reviewed all manuscripts submitted for consideration.

This project was funded under Contract No. 290-05-0016I from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), US Department of Health and Human Services as part of the Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness (DEcIDE) program. The authors of this report are responsible for its content. Statements in the report should not be construed as endorsement by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the US Department of Health and Human Services.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

The opinions or views expressed in this supplement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of the publisher, guest editors, or sponsor. Articles may discuss pharmaceutical products and/or uses of products that have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory authorities outside the United States. Dosages, indication, and methods of use for compounds that are referred to in the supplement by the authors may reflect their clinical experience or may be derived from the professional literature or other sources. For approved product information consult the manufacturer’s prescribing information or the applicable regulatory authority.