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Oregon Health Policy and Research

HERC Coverage Guidance Process
Coverage Guidance

In Oregon’s Action Plan for Health, the Oregon Health Policy Board calls for the development of an initial set of 10 Oregon-based best practice guidelines and standards. The intent is to build upon the high standards of evidence evaluation used in the development of guidelines and health technology assessments by HERC and other trusted sources, creating a process that will allow evidence-based practices to be applied rapidly and uniformly across public and private settings to reduce unnecessary care and drive down costs. 
 
Coverage Guidance Development Process  (pdf)

Contact Person:   Jason Gingerich


The Health Evidence Review Commission is seeking ad hoc experts to inform its work on Coverage Guidances on the following topics:

  • Use of DEXA in screening for and monitoring of osteoporosis
  • Intensity  Modulated Radiation Therapy and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for non-intracranial malignancies
  • Upper Endoscopy for GERD

 

These topics will be discussed by the Health Technology Assessment Subcommittee over the coming months, with initial discussion and/or review of public comments planned for the June 24 and September 23 meetings of the Health Technology Assessment Subcommittee. To apply, email a completed Conflict of Interest form and a current CV to HERC.info@state.or.us or fax to 503-373-5511, to the attention of the Health Evidence Review Commission. The application deadline is May 15, 2013 for all three topics.

All ad hoc experts will be appointed by Dr. Jeanene Smith, OHPR Administrator. Applicants not appointed (and any other member of the public) may submit written comments on the proposed coverage guidance during a 30-day public comment period which will occur once the subcommittee approves a draft version. Interested parties can monitor the status of coverage guidances by self-registering for e-subscribe.


Evidence Presentation

 What Is Evidence-informed Health Policymaking

This presentation, by Martha Gerrity from the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health and Sciences University, discusses the use of evidence for making health policy decisions. Methods of analyzing evidence (e.g., systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, observational studies) to determine its quality are described. Also discussed are key questions which should be asked when reviewing evidence.

This presentation was made to the Health Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the Health Evidence Review Commission on March 22, 2012.  This video is being posted for use by the HERC and its subcommittees as well others who might benefit from a primer on this topic.


Completed Coverage Guidances

The following link provides the list of topics for which the Health Evidence Review Commission has approved coverage guidances.  Where available, links to publicly available evidence reports from trusted sources on which a coverage guidance is based are provided.  When evidence reports from trusted sources are proprietary, summaries of those reports, along with citations of evidence referenced in the report, are provided.  Input received through the public comment period is provided for each topic, along with the disposition of each comment.  As indicated in the Coverage Guidance Development Process, an existing coverage guidance must be reviewed by the HERC or one of its subcommittees at their earliest opportunity should the evidence report on which it was based be revised. Otherwise, the HERC or one of its subcommittees should review the need to update the coverage guidance within no later than every two years after its adoption.
 
Completed Coverage Guidances Updated 5/14/13

Public Comment
Effective June 1, 2012
The Health Evidence Review Commission posts draft coverage guidances to this website for public comment as they become available. Comments will be accepted for 30 days following a draft coverage guidance's posting.

Have trouble opening a PDF file? Please email:  Dorothy Allen
 

Public disposition of received comments will be available in the meeting materials—available the week before each meeting—when the coverage guidance is discussed. Please watch http://www.oregon.gov/oha/ohpr/pages/herc/index.aspx for details. 

  • Follow a topic’s progress and discussion: Current Topics
  • Once a coverage guidance is finalized, the guidance and disposition of public comments are made publically available: Completed Coverage Guidances (PDF)

 

 For your comment to be accepted, it must:

  • be submitted to HERC.Info@state.or.us by the listed deadline.
  • include the name of the guidance in the subject line of your email.
  • include your name, profession, address, phone number and email address (only your profession, location, and comments will be made publicly available).
  • not exceed 1,000 words. 


Any submissions not adhering to the above criteria will be returned without an extension of the deadline. 
 
Only one submission per person, per topic will be allowed and a separate email must be sent for each topic.
 
Comments should include a full citation to any suggested additional peer-reviewed articles (not counted towards the 1,000 word limit). To ensure the suggested articles are reviewed, you should attach copies of the articles with your comments. If we are unable to obtain a cited article, we will not review the study.
 
Comments should not contain links to additional materials. These will not be reviewed.


Topics for which public comment is currently being accepted:

  
4/1/13

No topics are open for public comment at this time.
 
  


 

Topics for which the public comment period has past (review and/or action pending):
 
Public comment on the following draft coverage guidances closed at 8:00 am, Monday, April 1, 2013.

Public comment on the following draft coverage guidance closed at 8:00 am, Monday, March 18, 2013. 
  
Public comment on the following draft coverage guidance closed at 8:00 am, Wednesday, January 28, 2013.

 

Public comment on the following draft coverage guidance closed at 8:00 am, Friday, January 11, 2013.  

 

Public comment on the following draft coverage guidance closed at 8:00 am, November 9, 2012. 

 

Public comment on the following draft coverage guidances closed August 9, 2012. 

Public comment period on the following draft coverage guidances closed June 9, 2012.

 

  

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Coverage Guidance Topics Currently Under Development
The following link provides the list of topics that are currently undergoing the coverage guidance development process, including their current status and the earliest date at which they could be considered by the Health Evidence Review Commission for final approval.  Where available, links to publicly available evidence reports from trusted sources on which a coverage guidance is being based are provided.  When evidence reports from trusted sources are proprietary, summaries of those reports, along with citations of evidence referenced in the report, will be provided prior to the topic’s initial discussion by either the Evidence-based Guidelines Subcommittee or Health Technology Assessment Subcommittee. 
 
Guideline Topics Currently Under Development
 

Potential Future Topics for Coverage Guidance Development
The following link provides a list of topics approved by the Health Evidence Review Commission for potential future coverage guidance development, including the date of the commission meeting when the topic was added to this list and the subcommittee which the topic has initially been assigned. Where available, links to publicly available evidence reports from trusted sources on which a potential coverage guidance will be based are provided.
 
Potential Future Topics for Coverage Guidance Development