Publications

How Effective Would Antiviral Vaccination and Antiviral Drug Prevention and Treatment Strategies Be for Reducing the Impact of the Next Influenza Pandemic?

January 2006

An influenza pandemic seems inevitable. The H5N1 influenza virus, known as the avian influenza, is currently circulating in Asia and has appeared in other regions. Avian influenza (flu), which has been transmitted from birds to humans on a limited basis, can be rapidly fatal, with a reported death rate of at least 50% in the documented human cases to date. If a human-to-human transmissible form emerges and spreads rapidly, it will pose a great threat to global public health, although the mortality rate may not be as high as that observed thus far. While various factors suggest that this strain could be the cause of the next pandemic, it is unknown when it will occur, whether it will be caused by H5N1 or another new virus or how severe it will be. This report, prepared for the World Health Organization Health Evidence Network, assembles and presents evidence on the potential effectiveness of antiviral vaccination and antiviral drug prevention and treatment for reducing the impact of an influenza pandemic caused by the avian flu virus or another viral strain.

Expertise Area: Evidence-Based Medicine / HTA

The Hospital Built Environment: What Role Might Funders of Health Services Research Play?

August 2005

Several noteworthy reports that have been released in the past few years raise troubling concerns about the quality and safety of health care in the United States. Many factors may contribute to the shortfalls in quality, including the way care is delivered and the adequacy of the facility within which that care takes place. A body of evidence is developing about how attributes of the various environments in which health care is provided mediate health care quality. Consistent with the growing movement to apply clinical evidence-based approaches to improve patient outcomes, hospital administrators and researchers also are placing greater emphasis on "evidence-based design" to support and facilitate clinical advances in the field. This is a process for creating hospital environments that is informed by the best available evidence concerning how the physical environment can affect patient outcomes, patient safety and satisfaction, and hospital staff safety and satisfaction. However, the field is relatively new, evidence supporting this approach is not yet robust in many areas and existing research on evidence-based hospital design is not widely known among policymakers, regulators and other decision makers and opinion leaders. This environmental scan is intended to assess what is and is not known about the relationships between hospital design and construction—the built environment—and patient outcomes and satisfaction, and staff working conditions. It discusses the following issues: What is currently driving the market for hospital design and construction? To what extent are hospitals requesting evidence-based designs? What is the research base for the hospital built environment? What are major challenges in building the field of evidence-based hospital design? What are the major gaps in current research and relevant areas of future focus? What are appropriate roles for funders of health services research interested in furthering improvements within the built environment?

Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Evidence-Based Medicine / HTA

The Value of Diagnostics: Innovation, Adoption and Diffusion into Health Care

July 2005

The Lewin Group was commissioned by The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) to examine certain key aspects of the US diagnostics industry. This document is intended to: a) educate and inform various audiences about diagnostics and the industry that develops them; b) describe the value of diagnostics through the health care continuum and the broader health system; c) describe the technology evolution in diagnostics and potential of these technologies to alter clinical practice; d) identify and describe the hurdles to product development and dissemination; e) identify changes necessary to overcome these challenges; and f) define actionable recommendations for enabling clinicians, patients, provider institutions, payers and other stakeholders to better realize the value and potential of diagnostics to improve health care delivery, individual health and the public’s health.

Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Evidence-Based Medicine / HTA

Ensuring Blood Safety and Availability in the U.S.: Technological Advances, Costs, and Challenges to Payment

September 2002

The Lewin Group was commissioned by The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) to examine certain key aspects of the U.S. blood collection and distribution processes. In particular, this study examined the role of technological improvements in ensuring blood safety and the ability of the third-party reimbursement system to capture and account for increased costs of blood products and related services.

Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Evidence-Based Medicine / HTA