The United States (U.S.) faces urgent health challenges, including poor maternal and childhood health outcomes, childhood obesity, opioid use disorder, cancer, and chronic conditions, which require personalized care tailored to each patient’s unique circumstances. Patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) and comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) help identify the most effective interventions to prevent and manage complex health conditions by systematically comparing treatments and focusing on outcomes that matter most to patients, such as symptom relief and quality of life. This evidence gives patients, caregivers, and clinicians the information they need to make health choices that are safe, effective, and account for treatment benefits and risks. PCOR and CER studies that use real-world data from electronic health records (EHRs) containing patient-reported experiences and outcomes of care strengthen the reliability of the evidence. The widespread use of EHR systems by U.S. hospitals and clinics has created a rich source of this real-world patient data that can strengthen PCOR and CER studies.
Related Projects
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/patient-engagement-vignette
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/better-data-maternal-health-research