Frequently Asked Questions

The Effective Health Care (EHC) Program develops evidence reports, research summaries, tools, and other resources on a wide spectrum of topics, relevant to clinical, social science/behavioral, economic, and other health care organization and delivery issues. The reports and related resources may be used for informing and developing coverage decisions, quality measures, educational materials and tools, clinical practice guidelines, and research agendas. The EHC Program also develops new methods to improve how evidence synthesis is conducted.

To read the range of conditions researched in current and ongoing evidence reports, browse the EHC products by audience, type, or health topic categories.

The public can get involved in Effective Health Care (EHC) Program by suggesting topics for evidence reviews and providing comments on draft evidence reviews and other reports.

For more information, visit the Get Involved page on the EHC website.

The Effective Health Care (EHC) Program improves the quality of health care by providing the best available evidence on the outcomes, benefits and harms, and appropriateness of drugs, devices, and health care services and by helping health care professionals, patients, policymakers, and health care systems make informed health care decisions. The EHC Program achieves this goal by developing evidence reports in partnership with health professional societies, health systems, consumer organizations, and other stakeholders.

Learn about the history of the EHC Program and its projects, including the following:

• The Evidence-based Practice Centers perform in-depth reviews of existing evidence and produce methods guidance and tools.
• The Scientific Resource Center provides scientific support for the EHC Program.
• The Registry of Patient Registries project provides information and tools to help researchers build and use a patient registry.

Numerous former projects and initiatives have also contributed to the EHC Program since its authorization.

People in the health care system are making important decisions about treatments and interventions every day, whether they have information or not. In order for these decisions to be the most informed possible, people making health care decisions should have access to the best available information—even if it is not definitive—when they need it and in a way they can understand. Our work also helps our Federal partners and policymakers make critical decisions by filling gaps in information on what works and what does not work in health care services, and by identifying important gaps for future research.

To search for ongoing and final reports from the Effective Health Care program, go to Browse Reports.

For publications for consumers, go to Consumer Products.

Topic suggestions to the EPC program for a new evidence review can be submitted by the public, such as clinicians, policymakers, and patients. Organizations, such as healthcare organizations, professional societies, and others, may also suggest topics.

To submit a topic nomination, go to: Submit a Suggestion for a New Evidence Review.