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Technology Assessments

Public Review
Technology Assessments Completed
Technology Assessments in Progress
Technology Assessment Archive

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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

2009

Cost-Effectiveness of CT Colonography to Screen for ColorectalCancer
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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