New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council

Draft Report for CEPAC Meeting on ADHD Now Available

sjreed — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:15:44 +0000

Members of CEPAC will convene on Friday, June 1, 2012 in Durham, New Hampshire (meeting details here) to deliberate and vote on the evidence of the clinical effectiveness and comparative value of treatment options for pre-schoolers and school-aged children with ADHD. The draft report includes supplementary analyses to augment the review “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Effectiveness of Treatment in At-Risk Preschoolers; Long-term Effectiveness in All Ages; and Variability in Prevalence, Diagnosis, and Treatment” produced by AHRQ. To submit a public comment on the draft report, visit here.

CEPAC Featured in Connecticut Medicine Magazine

semond — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:26:22 +0000

CEPAC was featured in the April issue of Connecticut Medicine. The article features commentary from several current and former CEPAC members, including Michael Deren, Claudia Gruss, Ellen Andrews and Rick Lopez.

Key Questions for Deliberation of ADHD Treatments Now Posted

sjreed — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:46:48 +0000

The key questions for deliberation for the June 2012 CEPAC meeting on ADHD are now available.

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

New Members of the New England CEPAC Named for 2012

semond — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:15:03 +0000

ICER has announced the new members of the 2012 New England CEPAC. The 19 members of CEPAC represent a wide variety of backgrounds, specialties and perspectives, and come from all six New England states. CEPAC consists of practicing physicians and methodologists 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. Representatives of state health programs and of regional private payers are included as ex-officio members of CEPAC. A full list of the 2012 CEPAC members, with brief biographies, is available here.

Next Public Meeting of CEPAC to Address Treatments for ADHD

semond — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:47:19 +0000

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

First Positive Medicare Local Coverage Decision for TMS Cites Influence of New England CEPAC

sjreed — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:29:16 +0000

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).

Next topic: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

sjreed — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:36:10 +0000

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.

Final Report from CEPAC Meeting on Treatment-Resistant Depression Now Available

semond — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:40:43 +0000

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.

CEPAC Nominations Now Open

semond — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:36:11 +0000

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.

Public Meeting of New England CEPAC Set for Friday, December 9, 2011

semond — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:17:08 +0000

The second public meeting of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC) will be held Friday, December 9, 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island. The CEPAC members, representing a wide variety of backgrounds, specialties and perspectives from all six New England states, will be reviewing ICER’s adaptation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) review of non-pharmacologic interventions for treatment-resistant depression. The adapted review will be available online on November 16, 2011.

Meeting Details
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.