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Press Release Date: November 18, 1997
The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) is consolidating two existing
components to create the Center for Practice and Technology Assessment (CPTA), which will
oversee the Agency's Evidence-based Practice Program. CPTA will house the existing Office of
the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care, and will include the functions of the
previous Center for Health Care Technology. The consolidation, designed to improve efficiency,
is being announced in today's Federal Register.
"The Center for Practice and Technology Assessment will play a leadership role in
improving the evidence base underpinning the practice of medicine. The state-of-the-science
reports and technology assessments that the new centers will produce will provide the health care
system with a wealth of information we critically need," said AHCPR Administrator John M.
Eisenberg, M.D.
The new center will focus on closing the gap between what is known and what is done, to
help improve the quality of health care. CPTA's major activities will include: producing
evidence reports and technology assessments, principally through AHCPR's 12 Evidence-based
Practice Centers; facilitating the development and operation of an Internet-based National
Guideline Clearinghouse through the recently announced partnership with the American Medical
Association (AMA) and the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP); and coordinating
the work of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. CPTA also will conduct and support
research on the implementation of evidence-based recommendations into the health care delivery
system, and on methodologic aspects of this work.
CPTA will be directed by Douglas Kamerow, M.D., who has been serving as director of
AHCPR's Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care as well as acting
director of the Center for Health Care Technology. Kamerow, a family physician and an
epidemiologist, also has been promoted to the rank of assistant surgeon general in the Public
Health Service's Commissioned Corps.
"CPTA will provide a single point of contact for organizations and individuals who are
looking for comprehensive evidence reviews on health conditions, treatments, and technologies.
We will focus on those that are common and costly," Kamerow explained.
The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) is charged with supporting
research that improves the quality of health care, reduces its costs, and enhances access to
essential services.
For additional information, contact AHCPR Public Affairs: Salina Prasad, (301) 427-1864 (SPrasad@ahrq.gov).
540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850