Comparative Effectiveness Research: Challenges for Medical Journals

Abstract

In order to optimize health outcomes within the constraints of inevitably limited resources, low- and high-income countries alike require unbiased means of assessing health care interventions for their relative effectiveness. Such interventions include diagnostic tests and treatments (both established and newly developed) and implementation of health policy [ [1] Eden J, Wheatley B, McNeil B, Sox H, Editors; Committee on Reviewing Evidence to Identify Highly Effective Clinical Services, Institute of Medicine. (2008) Knowing What Works in Health Care: A Roadmap for the Nation. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Available: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12038. Accessed 26 March 2010. Google Scholar ]. Likewise, health care professionals and patients need better information to inform health care decisions that require weighing benefits and risks in light of the patient's medical history and personal preferences.