Evidence-Based Practice and Health Technology Assessment

HSRR is a searchable database of information about research datasets, instruments/indices and software employed in Health Services Research, the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Public Health. The database includes brief descriptions of research resources and links to PubMed.

A searching tool based on the work of Haynes, et al, to filter results via a series of evidence filters.

The AGREE instrument was developed to assess the methodological rigor and transparency in guideline development

The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument evaluates the process of practice guideline development and the quality of reporting.

The COMET Initiative is working towards the development and application of core outcome sets, which would establish the minimum that should be measured and reported in all clinical trials for a particular condition.

COMPARE is a transparent, evidence-based approach to providing information and tools to help policymakers, the media, and other interested parties understand, design, and evaluate health policies.

This tutorial is designed to support both curriculum-based EBP instruction and the ongoing education of practicing professionals. The tutorial consists of five instructional modules: What is EBP; Asking your question; Levels of evidence; resources; and evidence appraised.

RTIPs is a searchable database of evidence-based cancer control interventions and program materials and is designed to provide program planners and public health practitioners easy and immediate access to research-tested materials.

This tutorial is designed for students in healthcare fields, medical professionals, faculty, and anyone else interested in evidence-based practice.

Free online training consisting of nine modules that cover core concepts of the evidence-based public health framework, such as defining public health issues, conducting community assessments, prioritizing options, and evaluating program and policy impacts.

The Global Health Evidence Evaluation Framework project is aimed at developing an evidence framework for the purposes of informing efficacious, effective, sustainable global health programs at the community and scale level.

Tool uses 10 criteria to appraise the methodological quality of systematic reviews. Reviews receive a score from one to ten to determine whether it is weak, moderate, or strong quality.

Health Systems Evidence is a continuously updated repository of syntheses of research evidence about governance, financial and delivery arrangements within health systems, and about implementation strategies that can support change in health systems.

Database of evidence-based resources to find interventions and resources that can be used to achieve targets set forth in Healthy People 2020.

This tutorial is intended for any health care practitioner or student who needs a basic introduction to the principles of Evidence-Based Practice.

This database searches from a selection of 14,000 references to systematic reviews on high quality health system and public health evidence.

Includes access to the Patient-Centered Clinical Decision Support Learning Network; CDS Connect, an online repository of CDS artifacts; An Evaluation Project which will evaluate the overall initiative; and Funding Opportunities to translate evidence-based research findings into forms and CDS tools.

The Systematic Review Toolbox is a searchable, web-based catalog of tools that support the systematic review process across multiple domains

To assist in the creation of systematic reviews or meta analyses, this tool is designed for the extraction and management of data, and a searchable archive of systematic reviews and their data.

A toolkit, designed for health writers, that explains health studies terminology and concepts. It includes information on drug trials phases, costs of healthcare interventions, absolute and relative reduction, number needed to treat, and other useful concepts.

When conducting research, evidence-based practice is a method for framing clinical questions that will help yield optimal search results. PubMed.gov is a free research tool from the National Library of Medicine®. This course will show you how to use evidence-based practice when searching clinical questions using PubMed®.

Free resource for health care professionals interested in tracking performance on various measures of health care quality. It enables organizations to compare their performance against that of peer organizations, against a range of benchmarks, and over time. Case studies and improvement tools spotlight successful improvement strategies of the nation's top performers.

Clinician guides from The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Program.

Clinical practice guidelines produced or endorsed in Canada.

Cochrane Reviews are published in The Cochrane Library - an online collection of databases that brings together in one place rigorous and up-to-date research on the effectiveness of healthcare treatments and interventions, as well as methodology and diagnostic tests.

This searchable guidelines portal provides summaries of practice guidelines. Free registration is required to access the portal.

AHRQ is developing scientific information for other agencies and organizations on which to base clinical guidelines, performance measures, and other quality improvement tools. Contractor institutions review all relevant scientific literature on assigned clinical care topics and produce evidence reports and technology assessments, conduct research on methodologies and the effectiveness of their implementation, and participate in technical assistance activities.

The Center aims to provide communities, clinicians, policy-makers and others in the field with the information and tools they need to incorporate evidence-based practices into their communities or clinical settings. Site contains a collection of scientifically-based resources for a broad range of audiences, including Treatment Improvement Protocols, toolkits, resource guides, clinical practice guidelines, and other science-based resources.

KT+ provides access to articles on the current evidence on knowledge translation including articles on quality improvement, continuing medical education, computerized clinical decision support, health services research and patient adherence. Its purpose is to inform those working in the knowledge translation area of current research as it is published.

Professional practice guidelines, position statements, and recommendations relevant to a disorder, gene, or variant.

AHRQ's Evidence-based Practice Centers have developed methodologies for conducting systematic reviews.

Designed to help guide the process of creating practical clinical trials, this online wiki-based textbook is designed to assist health services researchers and clinicians in creating an appropriate clinical trial design.

Included are search filters for Pubmed, OVID Medline, Embase, PSYCInfo filters on: Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analysis/Health Technology Assessment, Randomized Controlled Trials, Guidelines, Economic Evaluations/Cost/Economic Models, Health Utilities/Quality of Life, Narrow Economic filter.

Search assembled meta-analyses, literature syntheses, and clinical guidelines from multiple sources to make them accessible via a single search.

This series of reports focuses on improving the quality of health care through critical assessment of relevant evidence for selected settings, interventions, and clinical conditions.

This document discusses the design and implementation of n-of-1 trials.

This report provides guidance on the creation of rapid reviews, examining the purposes of such reviews, the ways in which they differ from systematic reviews, and the evidence of their impact and validity.

This report reviews the literature on the effects of health IT on medication management and synthesizes available evidence regarding the effectiveness and effects of health IT in all phases of medication management as well as reconciliation and education. Gaps are identified; recommendations are made.

This is a special issue of AMA Journal of Ethics from January 2013, which examines law and ethics regarding EBM. It discusses such areas as education, research, individualized care, and trials.

This report addresses the myriad and often competing guidelines for clinical recommendations by offering what it said are 21 standards to ensure objective, transparent, and scientifically valid reviews.

This glossary is an appendix to the e-text HTA101. It lists and defines terms used in the field of health technology assessment.

This article discusses the validity - or lack of validity - of peer-reviewed articles

This 2005 monograph summarizes findings from the review of the research literature on implementation. The review process began by identifying literature reporting any efforts to collect data on attempts to implement practices or programs in any domain, including agriculture, business, child welfare, engineering, health, juvenile justice, manufacturing, medicine, mental health, nursing and social services.

The information in this report is intended to help health care decisionmakers make well-informed decisions and thereby improve the quality of health care services.

Journal offers rigorous and systematic approaches to decision making that are designed to improve the health and clinical care of individuals and to assist with health policy development.

Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, systematic reviews of existing research on the effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and comparative harms of different health care interventions, are intended to provide relevant evidence to inform real-world health care decisions for patients, providers, and policymakers. In an effort to improve the transparency, consistency, and scientific rigor of the work of the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, through a collaborative effort, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Scientific Resource Center, and the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) have developed a Methods Guide for Comparative Effectiveness Reviews. We intend that these documents will serve as a resource for our EPCs as well as for other investigators interested in conducting Comparative Effectiveness Reviews.

The series is designed to "expand the toolbox" of methods used to evaluate and refine PCMH models and other health care interventions.

This report suggests methodological and organizational strategies that can assist in the creation of rapid evidence reviews for policymakers

This kit of 5 modules, 2 brochures and a power-point presentation is aimed at mental health authorities and agency staff, to assist them in creating culturally sensitive evidence-based and promising practices activities.

This review outlines the steps that should be taken to determine when a systematic review requires updating.

Recommendations are available for public comment.

HRQ seeks to support conferences that help to further its mission to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable and affordable, and to work with HHS and other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used

The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) offers field placements for preventive medicine residents and primary care residents with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Program, based at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The clinical preventive medicine rotation at AHRQ gives Preventive Medicine and Primary Care residents an in-depth experience in the process of developing evidence-based recommendations.

This video series examines the research methods that offer the most useful data to policymakers in a rapidly changing environment.

Archived webinars.

Upcoming and past meetings are listed. Past meetings may include agendas, publications, and webinar recordings.

This seminar series examine issues that surround the areas of research, evidence, and clinical practice. The seminars are available in person at the NIH in Bethesda, MD or via free webcast.

Originally recorded in 2016, this is a free online course which provides a guide to designing and analyzing group-randomized trials.

The objective of this online COA continuing education (CE) series is to introduce COA fundamentals to working professionals in the area of medical-product development.

This webinar, held September 10, 2013, examines the application of evidence in the formulary decision-making process.

Conference proceedings and white papers from past seminars are available. The conference discusses of state-of-the-art concepts in communication and medical decisionmaking.

A video of Laboratory Medicine Grand Rounds, Dr. Mark Tonelli held on February 10, 2016, in which EBM, its strengths and weaknesses, and the relationship with clinical practice is discussed. The value of case-based medicine to the clinical process is also discussed.

Webcasts of the meeting, held November 30, 2012, are available

This is a webcast of a workshop, held October 27-28, 2012 in Washington, D.C. which focused on efforts to start building a patient-centered research community.

Systematic reviews in education, crime and justice, and social welfare.

National body that provides Canada's federal, provincial and territorial health care decision makers with credible, impartial advice and evidence-based information about the effectiveness and efficiency of drugs and other health technologies. It was formerly known as the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA)

The Center is a national leader in evidence-based decision making and policy design, working with federal, state and local policymakers in more than 20 states to use high-quality evidence to guide decisions, maximize resources and improve health outcomes.

Aims to develop, teach and promote evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to doctors and health care professionals to help maintain the highest standards of medicine.

Part of the National Institute for Health Research, CRD undertakes high quality systematic reviews that evaluate the effects of health and social care interventions and the delivery and organisation of health care.

Improving healthcare decision-making globally, through systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions.

An independent, nonprofit health services research agency that works to improve the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. Provides a wide range of services dealing with healthcare technology, including research, evaluation, assessment, publications, and databases. Other areas of interest include: healthcare risk and quality management, and healthcare environmental management.

Focusing on scientific cooperation in HTA in Europe, thirty four government appointed organisations from the EU Member States, Accession Countries and EEA work together to help developing reliable, timely, transparent and transferable information to contribute to HTAs in European countries. The EUnetHTA Joint Action builds on the achievements of a number of the previous European initiatives including the EUnetHTA Project (2006-2008) and the Pharmaceutical Forum (on relative effectiveness).

The Effective Health Care Program is dedicated to facilitating decision making by providing findings from high-quality research in formats for different audiences.

This initiative seeks to improve the reliability and value of published health research literature by promoting transparent and accurate reporting and wider use of robust reporting guidelines. The website contains a blog, a library for health research reporting, a toolkit to promote accurate publication of health research, and upcoming and past events and classes.

Under the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPC) Program of five-year contracts are awarded to institutions in the United States and Canada to serve as EPCs. The EPCs review all relevant scientific literature on clinical, behavioral, and organization and financing topics to produce evidence reports and technology assessments. These reports are used for informing and developing coverage decisions, quality measures, educational materials and tools, guidelines, and research agendas. The EPCs also conduct research on methodology of systematic reviews.

Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) are top-ranking institutions where research reviews for the AHRQ Effective Health Care Program are made. EPCs are housed at 15 of the nation's top medical schools, universities, or medical centers. Access research reviews, original research reports, and summary guides.

The Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) was established to provide timely and accurate syntheses of targeted health care topics of particular importance to VA managers and policy makers and to disseminate these reports broadly throughout VA. Access published reports as well as reports in progress.

A grant initiative dedicated to helping small- and medium-sized primary care practices across the country use the latest evidence to improve heart health.

Conducts research in the field of health information science and is dedicated to the generation of new knowledge about the nature of health and clinical information problems, the development of new information resources to support evidence-based health care, and the evaluation of various innovations in overcoming health care information problems.

The primary purpose of HTA is to ensure medical treatments and services paid for with state health care dollars are safe and proven to work. HTA serves as a resource for state agencies purchasing health care. HTA contracts for scientific, evidence-based reports about whether certain medical devices, procedures, and tests are safe and work as promoted. An independent clinical committee of health care practitioners then uses the reports to determine if programs should pay for the medical device, procedure, or test.

Focuses uniquely on health technology assessment (HTA) and provides the key forum for all those from the worlds of health care, academia and business interested in the science, development and application of HTA. Health technology assessment (HTA) offers "supporting evidence based decision making in health care policy and practice".

NCI's work related to quality of care research and the translation of this research into practice is available through the links on this website.

Non-profit organization that brings together diverse groups to transform the health care system so that it delivers patient-centered and value-driven care.

The IHE strives to assist decision makers in health policy and practice with the results from economic evaluations, costing and cost-effectiveness analyses, and with syntheses of findings from research in health technology assessment.

ISPOR promotes the science of pharmacoeconomics (health economics) and outcomes research (the scientific discipline that evaluates the effect of health care interventions on patient well-being including clinical outcomes, economic outcomes, and patient-reported outcomes) and facilitates the translation of this research into useful information for healthcare decision-makers to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly and efficiently. ISPOR embraces all health technology assessors, government health technology regulators & payers of health care including governments, insurers, and other health care payers who use health care outcomes research information in their decisions.

International membership organization including leading quality health care providers and agencies in just under 70 countries. The ISQua Secretariat is located in Australia.

Based within the University of Adelaide, Australia, the JBI promotes the synthesis, transfer and utilization of evidence by identifying effective healthcare practices to assist in the improvement of healthcare outcomes globally.

A nonprofit organization established in 1986 to conduct research on the clinical, economic, and social implications of new and emerging health care technologies.

The NExT project website is a tool for learning about evidence based public health practice and a portal to evidence based practice resources. The site was developed with a primary audience of public health nurses but will be of interest to everyone interested in learning more about evidence based public health. The site includes a free online course which offers 3 free CEUs to nurses.

The HTA programme is part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It produces independent research information about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests for those who plan, provide or receive care in the NHS.

NICE produces guidance in health technologies with guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS clinical practice; and guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS.

Composed of seven core working groups, the NIH Collaboratory's goal is to ensure that healthcare providers and patients can make decisions based on the best available clinical evidence.

Not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting.

Works to improve the quality of healthcare for veterans by implementing research findings into routine clinical practice. The QUERI centers focus on nine high-risk and/or highly prevalent diseases or conditions among veterans.

Formerly the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO), this organization is a not-for-profit association that develops and promotes use of SNOMED CT to support safe and effective health information exchange. SNOMED CT is a clinical terminology and is considered to be the most comprehensive, multilingual healthcare terminology in the world.

SBU presents the scientific evidence on the benefits, risks, and costs associated with different interventions. SBU identifies methods that offer the greatest benefits and the least risk, focusing on the most efficient ways to allocate healthcare resources. However, SBU also identifies methods currently in use that provide no benefits, have not been assessed, or are not cost effective.

This program provides technology assessments for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). AHRQ's technology assessment program uses state-of-the-art methodologies for assessing the clinical utility of medical interventions. Technology assessments are based on a systematic review of the literature, along with appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods of synthesizing data from multiple studies.

The final report examines best practices for health technology horizon scanning.

This report presents an overview of the Transforming Healthcare Quality Through IT grantees' experience.

The aims of this report are four-fold: (1) to summarize evidence- and consensus-based guidance on the conduct and reporting of health care modeling and simulation; (2) to summarize guidance from Health Technology Assessment (HTA) groups for modeling; (3) to prioritize future research needs to improve models; and (4) to provide an overview of methods for model calibration and validation.

This online e-book explains the 10 basic steps of Health Technology Assessment.

Provides a common vocabulary for work in HTA. Entries in this glossary have been created by selecting terms from existing glossaries (eg. Dr. Clifford Goodman's guide HTA 101) and from terms and sources suggested by many individuals working in the field of HTA.

HTAI has created a subscription journal, which will allow non-members to access policy papers and news/events.

This report looks at the increasing adoption of the electronic health record, as well as continuing disparities within rural hospitals and those dealing with vulnerable populations.

WHO has developed a reference document to provide an introduction to the concept and programme of health technology assessment (HTA) around the world and to highlight the contribution that HTA can make to informed policy and decision-making, particularly in developing and emerging countries. It further aims to describe strategic actions that countries can take for introducing HTA into their health systems.

Guide published by the Canadian Institute of Health Economics.

This report examines the creation of the National Medical Device Postmarket Surveillance System, which would support the development, regulation, and use of innovative medical devices, and would act as a national system for medical device postmarket surveillance.

Patient and provider resources, including methodologies, qualitative studies, information on shared decision making, and other resources.

Global Unique Device Identification Database (GUDID) contains key device identification information submitted to the FDA about medical devices that have Unique Device Identifiers (UDI).

A publicly available source of data providing researchers, payers, regulators, and innovators with metrics quantifying the temporal and regional patterns of health care spending and utilization, particularly with regard to the diffusion and exnovation of medical interventions. Website allows the public to download complete datasets of selected variables spanning decades; newer data will be posted as they become available.

The Equity-Oriented Toolkit is a needs-based health technology assessment model used to provide methods to match the identified health needs of a population, to the most appropriate interventions. It provides tools that explicitly consider health equity at the following steps of health technology assessment: Burden of illness, community effectiveness, economic evaluation, and knowledge translation and implementation.

Brings together details of completed and ongoing health technology assessments (studies of the medical, social, ethical, and economic implications of healthcare interventions) from around the world. The aim of the HTA Database is to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care.

FDA discusses their proposed Unique Identifier system for medical devices.