New medical technologies – including pharmaceuticals, devices, noninvasive and minimally invasive surgery, and diagnostic instruments -- continue to be developed at an ever increasing rate. With health care costs resuming their rapid escalation after a brief period of stabilization, and with an aging population that will place even greater demands on health care resources, it is more essential than ever that as a society we better understand the clinical and economic implications of using different medical technologies. The mission of the Harvard Program on the Economic Evaluation of Medical Technology (PEEMT) is to promote more informed decision making in the use of pharmaceuticals, devices, and medical procedures.
The program accomplishes its mission through scientific research projects, training programs, public policy activities, and collaborations with leaders in the field worldwide. PEEMT continues to grow and expand into new areas. On the research front, new projects are underway to examine diagnostic and therapeutic advances in AIDS, cancer, coronary heart disease, and other medical conditions.
PEEMT comprises a multidisciplinary effort, bringing together decision scientists, physicians, economists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and health services researchers. Based at the Harvard School of Public Health, PEEMT is a component of the Program in Health Decision Science, which provides faculty the opportunity to share ideas and to collaborate with senior scientists in related areas of application including global public heath and environmental risk analysis. The Program expands upon the wealth of experience in the evaluation of medical technology at the School of Public Health, the Harvard Medical School, and Boston area teaching hospitals and research institutions. Together we are working to improve decision making on the part of patients, physicians, payers, and policy makers.
PEEMT faculty lead research seminars and working groups on cardiovascular technologies, mental health treatments, and patient and societal preferences. PEEMT faculty are also active in other seminars in the Harvard medical community on cancer outcomes and decision-making, HIV outcomes research, risk assessment and analysis, quality of care evaluation, and pharmacoepidemiology, as well as a variety of seminars on biostatistics, epidemiology, and health policy.
An enduring priority of the Program is to promote reasoned policies for the evaluation and use of medical technologies. Program faculty achieve this objective in a number of ways, including dissemination of Program reports and newsletters, presenting research at scientific meetings, serving in leadership positions in professional organizations, and advising medical professional societies, health care organizations, and government agencies.