The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will pay Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to build a marketing campaign around comparative effectiveness research.
AHRQ awarded Ogilvy two three-year contracts (with two additional option years) worth a combined $26.5 million.
Under the contract, Ogilvy will support AHRQ's efforts to market and promote the adoption of findings and reports related to Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, also known as comparative effectiveness research. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research is the direct comparison of healthcare interventions to determine which work best for which patients, and which pose the greatest benefits and harms.
The bulk of both contracts is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allots $1.1 billion for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research.
"Patient-Centered Outcomes Research is the lynchpin to good medical care in this country," said Robert Mathias, managing director of Ogilvy Washington. "Though many consumers do not know Patient-Centered Outcomes Research by name, its benefits are critically important. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research empowers patients and physicians with the information they need to choose the best possible treatment for an illness or condition tailored for individual patients. It provides comparisons of drugs, medical devices, tests, surgeries, and ways to deliver healthcare."
Ogilvy Washington will work with AHRQ to create a national Publicity Center as part of AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program (EHC) to market Patient-Centered Outcomes Research reports and associated materials to healthcare decision makers across the spectrum from clinicians to patients; and policymakers to health plan buyers. The goal is to ensure broad dissemination of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research findings and encourage their use in healthcare decision-making. Publicity Center activities will include media outreach, partnership development, public education campaigns, and online engagements.
The second, complementary effort will establish regional offices in five HHS regions that will expand and extend Patient-Centered Outcomes Research partnership activities at the regional, state and local levels. On-site regional staff will work to engage partners and influencers from across disciplines and relevant disease patient groups to champion adoption and use of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research findings.
