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WORCESTER, MA, March 17, 2014 – Some of the most debated questions regarding growing reliance on patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys in evaluating the quality of health care were addressed in an article by a medical student and a professor today in Medical Care, a research journal published by the American Public Health Association. Are self-administered patient survey measures responsive enough to capture the quality of life benefits of improvements in laboratory tests and other clinical outcomes caused by drug therapies? How often do clinically-efficacious therapies lead to important and meaningful improvements in what patients are able to do in everyday life? According to the most comprehensive review of quality of life outcomes reported from well-controlled clinical trials of drug therapies, the answer to the first question is “Yes,” more than 80% of the time. However, there is wide variability in the rates at which drug treatments achieved accepted thresholds for improvements in quality of life (about 58% overall; 0-100% across clinical areas). For example, drug therapies for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis consistently achieved the largest average functional health improvements, whereas therapies for peripheral arterial disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease achieved much smaller benefits, often below thresholds considered important and meaningful. The reviewers note that, with the migration to electronic data capture and modern adaptive health survey methods, the efficiency and usefulness of PRO measures will increase. For the important health domains that old and new measures have in common, cross-calibration of new measures with existing measures will […]

WORCESTER, MA, January 15, 2013 — Dr. John E. Ware, Jr., Chief Science Officer and Founder of John Ware Research Group, Inc. (JWRG), a leading health outcomes company, was elected a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The NAI recognizes inventors who hold U.S. patents. Nominated by the University of Massachusetts Medical School where Dr. Ware is also Professor and Chief of the Outcomes Measurement Sciences Division in the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Dr. Ware said, "it is an honor to be an NAI Charter Fellow and to be in the company of such distinguished innovators." Dr. Ware, holder of numerous awards, is a globally recognized inventor in the patient reported outcomes (PRO) field. PROs are used in clinical trials and healthcare, including medical practice and electronic health records. PROs measure treatment outcomes, now at the forefront of healthcare reform. The newly elected NAI class of Fellows is comprised of inventors and innovators from 56 global research universities and non-profit research institutes who collectively hold over 3,200 U.S. patents. Included among the Fellows are eight Nobel Laureates, 14 presidents of research universities and non-profit research institutes.53 members from the National Academies (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine, of which Dr. Ware is a member), 11 inductees into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, two Fellows of the Royal Society, five recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, four recipients of the National Medal of Science, and 31 AAAS […]