The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health’s Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Seeking Public Feedback

BETHESDA, MD (August 27, 2012) – The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health managed Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) is seeking public feedback on proposed research priorities and tasks.

OMOP was formed in 2008 to conduct methodological research to inform the appropriate use of observational healthcare data for studying the effects of medical products. OMOP has generated empirical evidence about the performance of observational analysis methods to identify true risks of medical products and discriminate from false findings. The fundamental goal of these experiments is to develop and evaluate standardized algorithms that can reliably discriminate positive from negative controls, and to understand how an estimated effect from an observational study relates to the true relationship between medical product exposure and adverse events.

As part of its research, OMOP has developed tools and capabilities for transforming, characterizing and analyzing disparate data sources across the health care delivery spectrum, and has established a shared resource to enable collaborative research. OMOP’s research continues to reaffirm the notion that advancing the science of observational research requires an empirical and reproducible approach to methodology and its systematic application.

To continue the effort, the OMOP Executive Board proposed a series of Priorities, Infrastructure Tasks and Research Tasks to guide the development of OMOP's research agenda for 2013 – 2016.

The OMOP Executive Board is seeking comment on the adequacy and completeness of the research priorities and tasks..

“Receiving public feedback regarding OMOP’s work is vital to our success,” said OMOP Executive Board Member, Ronald Krall, MD. “We want to make sure we hear every idea about how to use healthcare data to improve the safety and effectiveness of medical products.”

The proposed research priorities and tasks are found on the OMOP website (http://omop.fnih.org/comment) with instructions on how to provide feedback. Comments can be given through September 15, 2012.

About The Foundation for the NIH

Established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the NIH - improving health through scientific discovery in the search for cure - the Foundation for the NIH is a leader in identifying and addressing complex scientific and health issues. The Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance the NIH priorities and activities. For additional information about the Foundation for the NIH, visit www.fnih.org

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