The ARRA Investment in CER: A Description of the Midstream Evaluation and How the Funds Were Allocated and CER Priorities Addressed

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 comparative effectiveness research (CER) investments aimed to develop fundamental building blocks to transform health care in the United States by strategically aligning national CER efforts and priorities. The overarching goals of these investments were to enhance the national infrastructure for conducting CER, generate new clinical evidence that could improve health care quality for priority groups of patients, and lay the groundwork to ensure the continued generation of information decision makers need to improve the nation’s health.