A new report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has recommended the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) receive funds above and beyond the $1.1 billion earmarked in the President’s initial stimulus package to develop a test network for comparative effectiveness research.
The report notes that if patient progress and outcomes are routinely captured in data and made available in near real time, "partial data can be used in sophisticated ways to assign treatments to new patients in optimal ways. These data also could be used to personalize treatment for patients already enrolled in a study."
“Assign treatment?” Perhaps “help a physician decide” or “provide important clinical information” -- but … “assign?” Sounds rather top-down, don’t you think? Alas, as this report was drafted by experts who understand the importance of precise language, we have to assume what they wrote is what they meant.
And that’s frightening.
Sounds like a good topic for a Congressional hearing.
The Council’s report can be found here.
