Harnessing the power of real-life data

The total quantity of medical information available is expanding at an unprecedente pace, yet there remains a shortage of data to help clinicians and healthcare system make choices among treatments and strategies. With rising healthcare costs, th need to optimize resource utilization is crucial. Comparative effectiveness researc (CER) is emerging as a tool to facilitate head-To-head comparisons and provide evidence-based answers to important clinical questions. Many forms of CER exist, fro randomized controlled trials and prospective clinical registries to retrospectiv studies and systematic reviews. Information from CER can be provided about clinica endpoints, patient-reported outcomes, and economic endpoints. Confounding is major obstacle to CER and may be minimized through the use of statistical technique such as stratification, matching, and propensity scores. By generating and synthesisin evidence of the harms and benefits of alternative treatments or interventions, CE can help consumers, clinicians, purchasers, and policy-makers to make informe decisions that will help improve healthcare at both the individual and population levels.