A clinical research strategy to support shared decision making

Greater use of evidence in health care decision making has highlighted the limited quantity and quality of evidence for many decisions. To make informed decisions, patients and physicians depend on valid evidence about benefits, risks, and costs of alternative treatments. Policymakers can also use this information to make promising new technologies available sooner, while ensuring adequate evaluation. The clinical research enterprise can be expanded with simple trials and registries. A more systematic effort to produce this evidence will entail establishing research priorities, improving research methods, expanding the research infrastructure, and engaging new funds.