Report seeks one-stop source for health info

For patients weary of scary headlines about popular treatments like the heart drug Vytorin, a new report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine might offer welcome relief.

It recommends Congress establish a single national resource of health information. The goal would be to make it clear what is known about the effectiveness of a drug or treatment, and what is not.

"We need a way to synthesize data about the effectiveness of health care products and services in a standardized, objective fashion that will be considered reliable and trustworthy by all decision makers," said Dr. Barbara McNeil of Harvard School of Medicine, who worked on the report.

The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, provides independent advice to U.S. policy makers and the public.

The group said spending on ineffective treatments only adds to the nation's growing health-care bill, which now amounts to $2 trillion per year or roughly $7,000 per person, according to the American Medical Association.

Many consumers are being asked to make better choices about their health, but piles of conflicting and confusing data make that task daunting.

"Patients deserve to know not only what medical treatments work, but which treatments work best," Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans.

The Institute proposal recommends Congress direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish and fund a program that evaluates clinical services and conducts systematic reviews of research studies.

This program also would be charged with setting clinical practice standards and guidelines, a step that might limit the use of some treatments and steer patients to treatments that are likely to provide the most benefit.