Draft Supplementary Report of Nonpharmacologic Interventions for Treatment-Resistant Depression Posted For Public Comment

Report will be subject of public meeting of New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC) on December 9, 2011

 

Boston, Mass., November 17, 2011 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), a leading academic comparative effectiveness research group based at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute for Technology Assessment, has posted the draft supplementary report “Nonpharmacologic Interventions for Treatment-Resistant Depression” as a complement to the full report of the same name from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Both reports will be the subject of deliberation and vote at the second public meeting of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC) on Friday, December 9, 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island.  The report prepared for CEPAC includes supplementary analyses to the original AHRQ review, including budget impact and cost-effectiveness analyses. 

 

“This supplementary report aims to help the members of CEPAC, and the public, understand the current state of the evidence on the management of patients with treatment-resistant depression,” stated Dan Ollendorf, MPH, ICER’s Chief Review Officer.  “We encourage public comment on this draft up until November 29th, so that our final product can be as actionable as possible.”

 

Date:     Friday, December 9, 2011

Time:     10:00 AM – 3:30 PM ET

Location:

Brown University

Faunce House, Peterutti Lounge, Second Floor

75 Waterman Street

Providence, RI, 02912

 

Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting must register by December 6, 2011 by visiting the “Contact Us” section of cepac.icer-review.org.  The website also includes instructions for those wishing to submit written comments ahead of time, and those requesting the opportunity to make public comments at the meeting.

 

 

CEPAC is a new regional body whose goal is to provide objective, independent guidance on the application of medical evidence to clinical practice and payer policy decisions across New England.  Supported by a federal grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and with backing from a consortium of New England state health policy leaders, CEPAC will hold public meetings to consider evidence reviews of medical tests and treatments and provide judgments regarding how the evidence can best be used across New England to improve the quality and value of health care services.  CEPAC consists of practicing physicians with experience in evaluating and using evidence in the practice of healthcare, as well as patient/public members with experience in health policy, patient advocacy and public health.  ICER is managing the day-to-day operations of CEPAC as part of its federally funded RAPiD (Regional Adaptation for Payer Policy Decisions) initiative meant to develop and test new ways to adapt federal evidence reviews to improve their usefulness for patients, clinicians, and payers.  A list of CEPAC members, and other information about the project, is available online at cepac.icer-review.org.

 

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), based at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute for Technology Assessment (ITA) and an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, provides independent evaluation of the clinical effectiveness and comparative value of new and emerging technologies. Structured as a fully transparent organization, ICER seeks to achieve its ultimate mission of informing public policy and spurring innovation in the use of evidence to improve the value of health care for all.  For more information, please visit www.icer-review.org. 

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