The Center for Medical Technology Policy (CMTP) supports the development of Effectiveness Guidance Documents (EGDs) to provide specific recommendations on the design and reporting of prospective clinical studies intended to inform decisions by patients, clinicians and payers. The recommendations are targeted to clinical researchers conducting studies of specific clinical interventions or health conditions.
A core premise behind the EGD development process is that the participation of a broad range of stakeholders improves the likelihood of achieving a reasonable balance of validity, relevance, feasibility, and timeliness. Each phase of the process involves active efforts to solicit and incorporate the full range of views of all relevant perspectives. It is recognized that it will not always be possible to arrive at consensus across stakeholders and ultimately, it will be necessary to render judgments about what constitutes a reasonable recommendation. As a general principle, while the perspectives of patients are central to our process, all stakeholder views are considered in determining the final recommendations. Where significant differences of opinion exist, all views will be documented in the text accompanying the specific recommendation.
The key vehicle for obtaining this stakeholder input is through a Methods Symposium. These Methods Symposia provide a neutral venue for a broad range of stakeholders to discuss the evidence gaps in that EGD topic and seek to gain stakeholder input on the leading methodological issues and corresponding recommendations that need to be addressed.
During the Methods Symposium, participants actively engage in a series of round table breakout groups aimed at discussing the underlying methodological controversies and summarizing areas of consensus and dissent. These discussions provide crucial information for the development of the EGD recommendations.
To learn more, select from the list to the left of previous Methods Symposia.