New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council

ICER today announced that the next public meeting of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC) will be held Friday, June 1, 2012 at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH.  The topic of this meeting will be treatment options for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  CEPAC members, drawn from clinical and public policy experts from all six New England states, will discuss the findings of the review on this topic produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), supplemented with additional analyses and information provided by ICER.  The meeting materials will be available online for public comment beginning May 11, 2012.

Date:          Friday, June 1, 2012
Time:         10:00 AM – 4:00PM ET
Location:   University of New Hampshire
Holloway Commons, 1st floor
Squamscott Room
75 Main Street
Durham, NH 03824

Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting must register by May 29, 2012 by visiting Contact Us; those wishing to submit written comments ahead of time, and those requesting the opportunity to make public comments at the meeting, can visit Adaptation Topics.

The Medicare Administrative Contractor for most of New England, NHIC, Corp, has issued a final local coverage decision granting first-in-the-nation Medicare coverage for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for patients with treatment-resistant depression.  The new coverage policy, which takes effect in March, reverses a non-coverage draft policy posted in November 2011, and represents the first positive local Medicare coverage policy for rTMS in the nation.  In describing the factors considered for this policy change, the Medicare Contractor cited numerous comments and statements received from patients and clinicians, several of which cited the comparative effective review produced by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), supplementary analyses of this report prepared for the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC), and the votes taken by the CEPAC as part of its public deliberation on the evidence (read the press release).

The subject of the next CEPAC meeting in June 2012 will be an adaptation of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Effectiveness of Treatment in At-Risk Preschoolers; Long-Term Effectiveness in All Ages; and Variability in Prevalence, Diagnosis, and Treatment.  The selection of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was based on a series of topic selection criteria and discussions with the RAPiD Advisory Board, especially around what topics would likely produce actionable products for medical policymakers.

If you or your organization has information, studies or other materials on the topic that ICER should consider as part of its adaptation, please submit them via this website.

Members of CEPAC recently convened in Providence, RI to deliberate and vote on the evidence on the clinical effectiveness and comparative value of nonpharmacologic interventions for patients with treatment-resistant depression (read the press release).  This meeting examined the evidence on four interventions: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), vagus nerve stimulation and cognitive behavioral and/or interpersonal therapy.  The final meeting report includes supplementary analyses to augment the review of nonpharmacologic interventions for treatment-resistant depression in adults produced by AHRQ.  The report also reviews the results of the votes taken by CEPAC on the adequacy of evidence to demonstrate the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of different approaches to treatment-resistant depression.  The report concludes with key policy considerations from CEPAC to help guide researchers, providers, and payers to generate and apply evidence in ways that will improve the quality and value of psychiatric services across New England.

ICER is now seeking nominations of clinicians and patient or public representatives to serve on CEPAC.  With this second iteration of CEPAC, members will be appointed to serve staggered one, two, and three-year terms, with one-third of members being allocated to each term duration. CEPAC day-long public meetings are held twice yearly in locations across New England.  The next CEPAC meeting will take place in June 2012.  Council members are reimbursed for travel and receive a modest honoraria.  The nomination period is now open and will close on February 17, 2012.   Nominations are being accepted online.