About Us

Mission:

The National Working Group on Evidence Based Healthcare represents consumers, caregivers, practitioners and researchers committed to promoting accurate and appropriate evidence-based policies and practices that improve the quality of healthcare services in the United States. We are dedicated to healthcare that relies on the most up-to-date research, clinician expertise, and consumer values. Through education and advocacy, the working group seeks to:

• Communicate and inform other stakeholders, policymakers and the public about the importance of and appropriate use of evidence in public policy decisions.
• Establish a forum for information and resource exchange on federal and state initiatives to review evidence and public policy trends around evidence-based healthcare (EBH).
• Advocate for transparency and inclusion of all stakeholders in evidence-based policies and decisions, and to advocate for a broad definition of evidence in making these decisions.
• Develop consensus for common principles on evidence-based healthcare.

Core Principles:

It is important for consumers to know the following core values of EBH:

• Evidence-based healthcare should support individualized care and not dictate “one-size-fits-all”treatment.
• Each consumer should be treated individually based on needs, health status, history and other individual factors.
• Any process developed for reviewing scientific evidence and translating those findings for decision makers should be clearly-stated, flexible in nature, and include consumer representation.
• Acceptable research evidence should not be limited to randomized clinical studies. All types of research should be incorporated to ensure all racial/ethnic groups are included.
• Safety and finding the right treatment for the individual should be a top goal of evidence-based healthcare.
• Evidence should support doctor and consumer decision-making rather than dictate treatment.

History:

Motivation

In January 2006, Mental Health America (MHA) convened the National Working Group on Evidence-based Health Care (The Working Group) to help ensure greater patient-focused, consumer knowledge, and involvement in national and state-focused initiatives seeking to promote a better quality of care.  A core activity of many of these initiatives is the review, interpretation, and dissemination of information about scientific research.  Currently, this information is also being used by consumers, providers, and policymakers to make decisions about health care delivery and coverage.  Although not an exhaustive list, examples include activities of the Oregon Center for Evidence-based Policy, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and Consumers Union. For more information on these and other activities, please visit our “Major Initiatives”page. 

Charge

MHA sought the formation of The Working Group to address challenges and raise concerns associated with evidence-based health care initiatives. These issues include the:

• Lack of public awareness about these initiatives;
• Lack of inclusion of diverse patient/consumer representatives on advisory bodies
• Absence of transparent processes that ensure input from patient/consumer viewpoints; and
• Methodologies that oversimplify conclusions about the effectiveness of health technologies and overlook the racial, ethnic, gender and age gaps in the current research base.

Method

The Working Group is a centralized information resource and forum for consumers, voluntary health organizations, providers, researchers and other interested stakeholders to:

• Learn about evidence-based healthcare;
• Track initiatives that review, interpret, and disseminate research for consumers, providers, and policymakers; and
• Engage in public comment, dialogue, and messaging about these initiatives and the translation of evidence into practice and policy. 

For Grant and Sponsor Support information click here.

For more information and to get involved, please visit www.evidencebasedhealthcare.org.