Harkness Project Title: Users’ Perspectives on Comparative Effectiveness Research Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Placement: University of California-San Francisco
Mentors: Lisa Bero, Ph.D., Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Carolyn Clancy, M.D., Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Ansgar Gerhardus, Dr. med., a 2010-11 Harkness/Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is research associate and head of the working group in evidence-based public health at the University of Bielefeld. Previously, Gerhardus was founding scientific executive director of the Centre for Health Technology Assessment Bremen at the University of Bremen, and team leader of the working group on evidence-based medicine, health technology assessment, and disease management, at Hannover Medical School. He is author of 15 peer-reviewed publications and recipient of first prize of the Medvantis Research Award for a Book—HTA category, 2002, for his work, Methoden zur Erfassung ethischer Aspekte und gesellschaftlicher Wertvorstellungen in Kurz-HTA-Berichten - eine internationale Bestandsaufnahme [Methods to assess ethical aspects and societal values in rapid health technology assessments]. Gerhardus holds an M.D. and M.A. from the University of Heidelber, as well as an M.P.H. from Hannover Medical School.
Project: Ansgar Gerhardus explored: how useful the comparative effectiveness research (CER) funded under the American Recover and Reinvestment Act will be from the perspective of entities deciding on coverage; how aspects such as rigor, relevance and the exact topic of the research contribute to the usefulness of the research; and what are the most important features that these entities expect from future CER projects. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with senior scientists who work for institutions or committees that critically review studies in order to support rational decision-making (e.g., the Blue Cross/Blue Shield-Technology Evaluation Center).
Career Activity Since Fellowship
- Professor and Head, Health Services Research, Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research, University of Bremen, 2011
Current Position: Professor and Chair, Health Service Research, Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research, University of Bremen (Updated July 2013)
Email: [email protected]
Selected Publications:
Gerhardus A. “Different name, same meaning? Comparative effectiveness research and patient-centered outcomes research in the USA.” [German] Z Evid Fortbild Qual Gesundhwes. 2012;106(7):479-83.
Gerhardus A, Schmacke N. “From comparative effectiveness research to patient-centered outcomes research.” [German] Z Evid Fortbild Qual Gesundhwes. 2012;106(7):477-8.