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Alliance to Use IMS’s Robust Information Assets to Assess Healthcare Delivery, Drive Improved Treatments in U.S.
NORWALK, CT, April 28, 2008 – IMS Health (NYSE: RX), the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, has joined with ten leading U.S. academic researchers in medicine, health economics and public health to establish the Health Services Research Network (HSRN), a consortium that will apply IMS’s evidence-based information to address key healthcare issues. The alliance represents a new way of conducting collaborative research among medical and academic researchers and the private sector.
The HSRN, which provides member institutions with enhanced access to IMS’s comprehensive information on healthcare therapies and outcomes, will study a number of areas critical to effective healthcare delivery. These include the impact of treatment variability on patient care and overall costs, disparities in treatments and their effect on outcomes, identification of best practices, and assessments of quality of care.
“The Health Services Research Network provides an unmatched opportunity for cross-disciplinary collaboration on health research,” said Randall S. Stafford, MD, PhD, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University. “Through enhanced access to this impressive range of data resources, the Network can conduct detailed, national-level studies of key health services and their outcomes. This research will provide vital solutions to the cost and quality challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system.”
HSRN members include leading experts in medical ethics, patient safety, pharmacy, public health, epidemiology, statistics and economics.
HSRN Charter Members:
• G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago
• Ernst Berndt, PhD, Applied Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Elliott Fisher, MD, MPH, Center for Health Policy Research, Dartmouth Medical School
• James Hoffman, PharmD, MS, Medications Outcomes, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Frank Lichtenberg, PhD, Finance & Economics, Columbia Business School
• Matthew Miller, MD, MPH, ScD, Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health
• Glen Schumock, PharmD, MBA, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research, University of Illinois - Chicago
• Nilay Shah, PhD, Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
• Randall S. Stafford, MD, PhD, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University
• Lee Vermeulen, MS, RPh, Center for Drug Policy, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Five HSRN projects currently are underway, focused on healthcare topics that include pediatric treatment outcomes, benchmarks of hospital drug costs, drug safety in key therapeutic classes, variability in treatment patterns, and how quickly the public accepts new medical technology.
“IMS is very proud to play a role in this ground-breaking effort, and to contribute to the dialogue on developing and implementing best practices and standards in medicine,” said David Carlucci, chairman and CEO, IMS. “The consortium brings together a world-class team to focus on some of today’s most pressing healthcare issues. By leveraging our extensive information assets, these experts can help move us all closer to a more unified approach to improving treatment of patients, measuring quality of care and managing costs.”
Added Robert Hunkler, director of Professional Relations, IMS, and HSRN coordinator, “The U.S. healthcare system is under increasing pressure to develop appropriate and cost-effective treatment options. The need to understand how patients are treated in actual practice, and the outcomes of those treatments, has never been greater. The HSRN consortium will build a base of shared knowledge and evidence-based insights that will help advance healthcare.”
More information about IMS’s work with Health Services Research Network members, academic research affiliates, university students and non-profit organizations can be found at: http://www.imshealth.com/researchsupport.
About IMS
Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With $2.2 billion in 2007 revenue and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge market intelligence products and services that are integral to clients’ day-to-day operations, including portfolio optimization capabilities; launch and brand management solutions; sales force effectiveness innovations; managed care and consumer health offerings; and consulting and services solutions that improve ROI and the delivery of quality healthcare worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.imshealth.com.
