The Effective Health Care Program
was initiated in 2005 to provide
valid evidence about the comparative
effectiveness of different medical
interventions. The object is to help
consumers, health care providers,
and others in making informed
choices among treatment alternatives.
Through its Comparative Effectiveness
Reviews, the program supports
systematic appraisals of existing
scientific evidence regarding
treatments for high-priority health
conditions. It also promotes and
generates new scientific evidence by
identifying gaps in existing scientific
evidence and supporting new research.
The program puts special emphasis
on translating findings into a variety
of useful formats for different
stakeholders, including consumers.
The full report and this summary are
available at www.effectivehealt