Journal Editors Call For Standards In Comparative Effectiveness Research

Posted by: Christopher Fisher, PhD Posted date: April 28, 2010 In: Public Health | comment : 0

Editors of several medical research journals have issued a statement calling for rigorous standards and transparency in research that is designed to influence patient care and health policy. Led by Dr. Harold Sox, co-chair of the 2009 US Institute of Medicine Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research Prioritization, the statement’s author list includes editors of Medical Decision Making, Trials, The Cochrane Library, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, and PLoS Medicine. Editors of Journal of General Internal Medicine, The American Journal of Managed Care, Clinical and Translational Science, and Croatian Medical Journal have also endorsed the statement. Check the end of this report for a link to download this freely available article.

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) compares the benefits and harms of different medical tests, treatments and procedures, and provides evidence to support clinicians, patients, and policy makers in deciding which approaches to use. Noting that “the challenge will be to realize the full potential of such research to improve health,” the editors call on medical journals to “use rigorous approaches… to assess the limitations inherent in such research, such as missing data, incomplete follow-up, unmeasured biases, the potential role of chance, competing interests, and selective reporting of results.”

The statement includes a list of 11 standards for the conduct and reporting of CER studies, including involvement of patients in selecting and refining research topics, public registration of research protocols prior to beginning a study, inclusion of representative populations in CER studies, rigorous peer review by independent experts, free availability and public archiving of study publications, and public declaration of all relevant competing interests.

Material adapted from Public Library of Science by CFisher.

Download
Sox HC, Helfand M, Grimshaw J, Dickersin K, Tovey D, et al. (2010). Comparative Effectiveness Research: Challenges for Medical Journals. PLoS Med 7(4): e1000269. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000269

‹ Previous Next ›

About The Author

Christopher Fisher, PhD

Managing Editor

Dr. Christopher Fisher, Managing Editor for The Behavioral Medicine Report, received his PhD in Clinical Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine from University of North Texas. His clinical training emphasized a biopsychosocial approaches to health and wellness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), neurofeedback, biofeedback, cranial electrical stimulation (CES), and QEEG. He is Board Certified in Neurofeedback (BCN) by BCIA. Dr. Fisher also received a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Texas A&M - Corpus Christi. Dr. Fisher maintains a private practice in Corpus Christi, Texas, and offers individual therapy, group therapy, and neurofeedback. You can learn more at http://www.christopherfisherphd.com Dr. Fisher enjoys spending time with family, watching sports and movies, and outdoor activities.

Number of Entries : 2918