Peter J. Neumann, Sc.D., has conducted extensive research on the role of cost-effectiveness analysis in health care decision-making. He has conducted economic evaluations of medical technologies, including evaluations of treatments for Alzheimer's disease and in-vitro fertilization. He also directs a project to develop a comprehensive registry of cost-effectiveness analysis in health care. He has contributed to the literature on the use of willingness-to-pay and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in evaluating health benefits. Dr. Neuman has also studied the role of the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of health economic information, and the role of clinical and economic evidence in informing public- and private-sector health care decisions, including those made by the Medicare program.

During the past two years, Dr. Neumann and his colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital have examined the quality of evidence for technologies reviewed by Medicare for 69 national coverage decisions made between 1998 and 2003, as well as factors influencing decisions and review times. In 1998, Medicare had amended its procedures for making national coverage decisions in an attempt to make the process more transparent, predictable, and evidence-based.

"Medicare coverage rules for new technologies can have profound implications for beneficiary access to medical advances, and to the fiscal well being of the program," said Neumann. "However, there has been very little empirical research to examine how the process is working. Health services research is a critical input to the policy process, and we were delighted that the Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) Initiative chose to fund our work. Our research underscores the fact that there are gaps in the evidence base, and that the quality of evidence available to CMS is often lacking. It also highlights the tradeoffs between rigorous review and timely decision-making."

Neumann, Sc.D., is Associate Professor of Policy and Decision Sciences in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He is the author or co-author of over 70 publications in the medical literature, and a newly published book, Using Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Improve Health Care (Oxford University Press, October 2004). He is a contributing editor of Health Affairs and member of the editorial board of Value in Health. Dr. Neumann is President-elect of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), and a trustee of the Society for Medical Decision Making. He has also held various policy positions in Washington, including Special Assistant to the Administrator at the Health Care Financing Administration. He received his doctorate in health policy and management from Harvard University.

Selected Publications:

Neumann P.J.,et al. "Quality of evidence and review times for Medicare national coverage decisions". Health Affairs. In press.

Neumann P.J.,et al. "Growth and quality of the cost-utility literature, 1976-2001. Value in Health". In press.

Neumann P.J. "Why don't Americans use cost-effectiveness analysis?" American Journal of Managed Care. Vol. 10, No. 5, 2004, pp.308-12.

Neumann P.J. "Evidence-based and value-based formulary guidelines". Health Affairs. Vol. 23, No. 1, 2004, pp. 124-34.

Neumann P.J., et al. "Economic messages in prescription drug advertisements in leading medical journals". Medical Care. Vol. 40, No. 9, 2002, pp. 840-5.

Neumann P.J., B.S. Levine. "Do HEDIS measures reflect cost-effective practices?". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol. 40, No. 9, 2002, pp. 840-5.

Neumann P.J., et al. "Public attitudes and willingness to pay for genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease". Health Affairs. Vol. 23, No. 4, 2002, pp. 276-89.

Neumann PJ, Araki SS, Arcelus A, Longo A, Papadopoulos G, Kosik KS, Kuntz KM, Bhattacharjya A. Measuring transition probabilities in Alzheimer's disease: estimates from CERAD. Neurology. 2001;57:957-63.

Neumann PJ, Sandberg EA, Bell CM, Stone PW, Chapman RH. Are pharmaceuticals cost-effective? A review of the evidence. Health Affairs. 2000;19(2):92-109.

Neumann PJ, Goldie SJ, and Weinstein MC. Preference-based measures in economic evaluation of health care. Annual Review of Public Health. 2000;21:587-611.

Neumann PJ, Claxton K, Weinstein MC. The FDA's regulation of health economic information. Health Affairs. 2000;19(5):129-37.

Neumann PJ, Stone PW, Chapman RH, Sandberg EA, Bell CM. The quality of reporting in published cost-utility analyses, 1976-1997. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2000;132(12):964-72.

Neumann PJ, Kuntz KM, Leon J, Araki SS, Hermann RC, Hsu MA, and Weinstein MC. Health utilities in Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional study of patients and caregivers. Medical Care. 1999;37:27-32.

Neumann PJ, Hermann RC, Kuntz KM, Araki SS, Duff SB, Leon J, Berenbaum PA, Goldman PA, Williams LW, Weinstein MC. Cost-effectiveness of donepezil in the treatment of mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. 1999;52;1138-45.