Massachusetts General Hospital

Institute faculty have training and expertise in biostatistics, epidemiology, economics, decision science, outcomes analysis, health care policy and regulatory law. Research activities emphasize the evaluation of non-drug technologies, including devices, diagnostics, and procedures. A unique focus is on the evaluation of technologies during the early stages of development, from discovery to preliminary clinical testing, when extensive data regarding clinical effectiveness may not yet be available. In these instances, computer models are utilized in order to simulate expected outcomes (using the methods of decision analysis), and thereby predict costs, effectiveness, and overall impact on the healthcare system.

The specific goals of the ITA are to:

• Support investigators with core expertise including decision science, economics, clinical epidemiology, statistics, and outcomes analysis.
• Conduct research in methodologies that will enhance clinical decision analysis and technology assessment.
• Focus the development and assessment of technologies that will result in significant improvements in the quality of patient care.
• Facilitate the design and implementation of clinical trials emphasizing studies that lead to significant improvements in the quality of patient care.
• Provide an environment that supports the research activities of residents, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty.
• Develop educational programs to transfer this knowledge to students, residents, health care providers, policy makers, private industry and the public.

Learn more by visiting the Institute for Technology Assessment website.

Mass General research addresses early breast screening for gene-mutation carriers

Starting breast cancer screening as early as age 25 may help women who carry a genetic mutation linked to a higher risk of cancer live longer, according to a U.S. study.