Technology Assessments
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The Technology Assessment (TA) Program at the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ) provides technology assessments for the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS). These technology assessments are used by CMS to inform
its national coverage decisions for the Medicare program as well as provide information
to Medicare carriers.
AHRQ's TA Program uses state-of-the-art methodologies for assessing the clinical
utility of medical interventions. Technology assessments are based on a systematic
review of the literature, along with appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods
of synthesizing data from multiple studies.
Technology assessments may be done in-house by AHRQ staff, or they may be done
in collaboration with one of our Evidence-based Practice Centers.
When available, technology assessment topics are linked to corresponding information on
the CMS Web site. For additional information, please contact the Technology Assessment
Program at AHRQTAP@ahrq.hhs.gov.
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Public Review
To get complete public review, the AHRQ TA Program will post draft reports on the
AHRQ TA Web site. To meet the timelines for Medicare coverage decisions mandated by
the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, draft
technology assessment reports will be available for public review for a limited time.
A notice will be sent out on the CMS Medicare Coverage and AHRQ Effective Health Care
E-mail distribution lists 1 week before the posting of draft reports. Each report will
be available for public review on this Web site for a total of 2 weeks.
The AHRQ TA Program supports and is committed to the transparency of its review process.
Therefore, starting March 18, 2009, invited peer review comments and public review comments
will be publicly posted on the TA Program Web site within 3 months after the associated
final report is posted on this Web site. The report authors' responses to the comments
(the "disposition of comments") will be posted on the same Web page as the
associated comments.
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Technology Assessments Completed
2012
The Impact of Pre-transplant Red Blood Cell Transfusions in Renal Allograph Rejection
Disposition of Comments
Management of Asymptomatic Carotid
Stenosis (PDF File, 1.7 MB; Plugin Software Help)—New!
Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy
Systematic Review of ECG-based Signal Analysis Technologies for Evaluating Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome—New!
Update on Mapping the Landscape of Genetic Tests for Non-Cancer Diseases/Conditions—New!
2011
Effectiveness of Cochlear Implants in Adults with Sensorineural
Hearing Loss
Disposition of Comments
Health Risk Appraisal
Disposition of Comments
Lifestyle Interventions for Four Conditions: Breast Cancer,
Prostate Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, and Metabolic Syndrome
Disposition of Comments
Outcomes of Sipuleucel-T Therapy
Disposition of Comments
Update of Horizon Scans of Genetic Tests Currently Available for
Clinical Use in Cancers
Disposition of Comments
2010
Bone Morphogenetic Protein: The State of the Evidence for On-Label
and Off-Label Use
Disposition of Comments
Consideration of Evidence on Antiemetic Drugs for Nausea and
Vomiting Associated with Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy
Disposition of Comments
Diagnosis and Treatment of Secondary Lymphedema
Disposition of Comments
ECG-based Signal Analysis Technologies
Disposition of Comments
Genetic Tests for Non-Cancer Diseases/Conditions: A Horizon Scan (Updated)
Disposition of Comments
Quality, Regulation and Clinical Utility of Laboratory-developed
Molecular Tests (Corrected Final Report)
Errata (PDF file, 94 KB; Plugin Software Help)
Disposition of Comments
Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: An Update
Disposition of Comments
Report on the Evidence Regarding Off-Label Indications for Targeted
Therapies used in Cancer Treatment
Disposition of Comments
A Systematic Review of Loss-of-Heterozygosity Based Topographic Genotyping with PathfinderTG® (PDF file, 400 KB; Plugin Software Help)
Disposition of Comments
Systematic Reviews on Selected Pharmacogenetic Tests for Cancer
Treatment: CYP2D6 for Tamoxifen in Breast Cancer, KRAS for anti-EGFR antibodies in
Colorectal Cancer, and BCR-ABL1 for Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Chronic Myeloid
Leukemia
Disposition of Comments
2009
Cost-Effectiveness of CT Colonography to Screen for Colorectal
Cancer
Horizon Scan: To What Extent Do Changes In Third-Party Payment
Affect Clinical Trials And The Evidence Base? (PDF file, 520 KB;
Plugin Software Help)
Negative
Pressure Wound Therapy Devices
Disposition of Comments
Reviews of Selected Pharmacogenetic Tests for Non-Cancer and
Cancer Conditions
Use of Bayesian Techniques in Randomized Clinical Trials: A
CMS Case Study
Disposition of Comments
White Paper: Potential Conflict of Interest in the Production
of Drug Compendia
2008
Evaluation of the Evidence on Benefits and Harms of Pulmonary
Artery Catheter Use in Critical Care Settings
Home Testing in Management of Chronic Diseases
Horizon Scan of Invasive Interventions for Lower Extremity
Peripheral Artery Disease and Systematic Review of Studies Comparing Stent Placement
to Other Interventions
Horizon Scan: Lipoprotein Subfractions for Identifying Patients
at Increased Risks for Cardiovascular Diseases
Methodological Issues in Evaluation of Innovative Training
Approaches to Stroke Rehabilitation
Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Post-Discharge Care in Heart Failure
Positron Emission Tomography for Nine Cancers (Bladder, Brain,
Cervical, Kidney, Ovarian, Pancreatic, Prostate, Small Cell Lung, Testicular)
* Not available electronically. Contact
AHRQTAP@ahrq.hhs.gov for report
availability.
** Report is completed, but in the process of being prepared for posting. Please check back for updates.
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Technology Assessments in Progress
Projects in final production phase (post-review)
End of Life Decisionmaking Regarding Electronic Cardiac Devices
Skin
Substitutes for Treating Chronic Wounds
Spinal Fusion for the Treatment of Low Back Pain Secondary to Lumbar Degenerative
Disc Disease (Draft)
Projects currently under review
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) or Other In Situ Hybridization (ISH) Testing for Chromosomal Damage in Uterine Cervical Cells to Predict Potential for Dysplasia/Malignancy
Genetic Testing or Molecular Pathology
Testing of Cancers with Unknown Primary Site to Determine Origin
Projects in early-mid production phase (pre-review)
Implantable Defibrillators and the
Evidence for Primary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death
Technology Assessment Archive
Technology Assessments for
1990-2007
These technology assessments were completed at least 4 years ago, and some as many
as 20 years ago. These assessments may be outdated due to more recent research findings
not included in the assessments and should be viewed cautiously in current medical
practice. They are maintained for archival purposes only.
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