Incorporating the Patient Perspective

Current efforts among payers, clinicians, and policymakers to influence healthcare often miss the opportunity to incorporate the patient and consumer perspective.  CMTP seeks to generate reliable evidence for decision-makers and recognizes the importance of including patients and consumers as fellow decision-makers, rather than simply the usual audiences for such decisions. CMTP is taking steps to include the views of patients and consumers in the conversation around evidence-based medicine and comparative effectiveness research. We believe that the results of our commitment to including patient and consumer perspectives will benefit not only our own organization, but also will be instructive for other evidence-based health care organizations seeking practical mechanisms to maximize patient and consumer involvement in their activities. 

In October 2007, CMTP convened a meeting of leading consumer and patient advocates to review and evaluate the engagement methods that CMTP will employ in its strategic planning, setting research priorities, and study protocol development efforts. This advice was helpful to CMTP in implementing its plan to integrate patient and consumers perspectives into the development of its programs and governance.

CMTP formed a Patient and Consumer Advisory Committee (PCAC), which exists as a subcommittee of the CMTP Board of Directors.  PCAC’s purpose is to ensure that the patient and consumer perspective is gathered and integrated fully within all CMTP initiatives, including CMTP’s strategic direction. For more information about PCAC and its members, click here.