The Center for Medical Technology Policy (CMTP) released its Leadership Report on Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) for Cardiovascular Disease earlier this week. Key topics include overcoming barriers to participation in cardiovascular clinical studies, best practices to promote engagement of traditionally underserved populations, study design considerations, enhancement of the research infrastructure (e.g. funding mechanisms), and the dissemination of research findings.

This report summarizes CMTP’s 2011 Summit, which was hosted in October last year. The National Leadership Summit on CER brought together patients, clinicians, advocacy groups, researchers, professional medical society representatives, regulators, and insurers to identify the gaps in cardiovascular research and to identify strategies to address these gaps. “This was a thought provoking, highly productive effort that brought together the critical players in the field, and we are proud to share the key findings with the cardiovascular research community,” says Dr. Kathleen Blake, CMTP’s Senior Research Director who led the initiative. “Later this year, we will host a focused workshop on diabetes that will provide guidance on CER evidence gaps, study designs, and infrastructure to address that important disease.”