Nine years of comparative effectiveness research education and training: initiative supported by the PhRMA Foundation

The term comparative effectiveness research (CER) took center stage with passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009). The companion US$1.1 billion in funding prompted the launch of initiatives to train the scientific workforce capable of conducting and using CER. Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) focused these initiatives on patients, coining the term ‘patient-centered outcomes research’ (PCOR). Educational and training initiatives were soon launched. This report describes the initiative of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America (PhRMA) Foundation. Through provision of grant funding to six academic Centers of Excellence, to spearheading and sponsoring three national conferences, the PhRMA Foundation has made significant contributions to creation of the scientific workforce that conducts and uses CER/PCOR

Patient-Centered Core Impacts Sets (PC-CIS): What They Are and What They Are Not

Letter to the Editor We are writing regarding the Innovations in Pharmacy commentary entitled, “Evidentiary Standards for Patient-Centered Core Impact Value Claims.”(1) We thank Dr. Langley for commenting on the National Health Council’s work on patient-centered core impact sets (PC-CIS), an initiative spearheaded by the nonprofit organization and its membership with multi-stakeholder representation and input.(2-4) While we have tried to be clear and transparent about the intent of PC-CIS, the commentary made it apparent to us we need to (and will) do more to be explicit about what a PC-CIS is and is not, and its possible downstream uses.  We believe the PC-CIS concept was misrepresented in the commentary and want to provide clarification for readers so they can consider the merits of the initiative for themselves

Breakout Session 3: Personal Experiences from Athletes and their Families - Eleanor Perfetto

Eleanor Perfetto, PhD, University of Maryland professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research of the School of Pharmacy, provides personal testimony about the effects of concussions on athletes and their families. Perfetto\u27s husband, Ralph Wenzel, played seven seasons as a guard in the National Football League (NFL) before developing dementia as a result of repeated head trauma. When Wenzel died in 2012 of complications related to his sports-induced dementia, physicians determined his brain had shrunk to the size of a 1-year-old\u27s brain

Mortality and Associated Morbidities Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Medicare Statin Users

Objective: To assess the relationship between posttraumatic brain injury statin use and (1) mortality and (2) the incidence of associated morbidities, including stroke, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias following injury. Setting and Participants: Nested cohort of all Medicare beneficiaries 65 years of age and older who survived a traumatic brain injury (TBI) hospitalization during 2006 through 2010. The final sample comprised 100 515 beneficiaries. Design: Retrospective cohort study of older Medicare beneficiaries. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were obtained using discrete time analysis and generalized estimating equations. Measures: The exposure of interest included monthly atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin use. Outcomes of interest included mortality, stroke, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Results: Statin use of any kind was associated with decreased mortality following TBI hospitalization discharge. Any statin use was also associated with a decrease in any stroke (RR, 0.86; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.81-0.91), depression (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.79-0.90), and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.73-0.81). Conclusion: These findings provide valuable information for clinicians treating older adults with TBI as clinicians can consider, when appropriate, atorvastatin and simvastatin to older adults with TBI in order to decrease mortality and associated morbidities. Key words: Medicare, mortality, older adults, statins, TBI sequelae, traumatic brain injur