Two research studies receive HSR Impact Award from AcademyHealth

Separate works provided vital information on the impact of Massachusetts health reform and the influence of industry relationships in health care

Research studies that helped shine a light on the impact of health reform in Massachusetts and industry influence on health care, respectively, were jointly awarded the AcademyHealth HSR (Health Services Research) Impact Award at the 2012 National Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

The HSR Impact Award is presented by AcademyHealth in recognition of outstanding positive impact of health services research on health policy or practice. This year, two winners were chosen for the HSR Impact Award.

The Massachusetts health reform evaluation, conducted by Sharon Long and colleagues at the Urban Institute and Social Science Research Solutions, enabled researchers and policymakers to better understand the impact of system-wide change on insurance coverage, access to and use of health care, and the affordability of health care. Not only did the evaluation improve understanding of the myriad impacts of reform, but early findings from the evaluation also helped move the policy debate from whether near-universal coverage could be achieved to how to maintain and pay for the coverage expansion. The research, which was conducted in conjunction with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, informed the national debate by providing updates on the real-world experiences in Massachusetts under its health reform system. They have also identified problems, such as insufficient provider capacity and gaps in access to care, particularly due to health care costs. The work done by Dr. Long and her colleagues has played, and will continue to play, a key role in informing the national health care debate as states react to the Affordable Care Act.

The second recognized body of research focused on identifying the benefits and risks of relationships between physicians/scientists and industry - including activities like the provision of samples, gifts and speaker fees. Early work by Drs. Eric Campbell and David Blumenthal indicated that those scientists with industry support were significantly more productive than those without such support. However, industry-funded scientists were also significantly more likely to engage in secrecy related to their industrial research. This study, and subsequent follow-on studies by Dr. Campbell and collaborators at the Morgan Institute for Health Policy (MIHP) at the Massachusetts General Hospital and elsewhere, set the benchmark for tracking of the frequency, benefits, and risks of industry support in academic research and played a significant role in changing policies and practices relating to industry relationships nationally, across states, and within medical schools and research institutions. This body of research helped motivate calls for a national system for disclosing physician payments, which led to the enactment of the "Physician Payments Sunshine Act" (S. 301) into law as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148). By 2010, Dr. Campbell's research showed a significant decrease in the percentage of physicians accepting medication (from 78 percent in 2004 to 63 percent in 2009), gifts (from 83 percent to 72 percent), reimbursements from drug companies (33 to 18 percent), and other industry payments (28 to 14 percent). Overall, the percentage of physicians with any type of industry relationship in the previous year had decreased significantly from 94 to 84 percent.

"These studies show us the power of evidence to improve our understanding of complex policy issues, shine a light on opportunities to improve the system and offer actionable insights to policymakers," said Dr. Lisa Simpson, president and CEO of AcademyHealth. "They are excellent examples of the vitally important role health services research can play in improving health and health care."