ITA in the News

CISNET investigators (clockwise) Ann Zauber (Memorial Sloan Kettering), John Inadomi (University of Utah), Carolyn Rutter (Fred Hutch), Amy Knudsen (MGH) Dr. Amy Knudsen, an Associate Director of the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment and faculty member at Harvard Medical School, participated in Fight Colorectal Cancer’s (FightCRC) annual “Call on Congress” event, held March 10-11, 2025, … Read more

Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News | Gina Shaw Rising rates of alcohol-associated liver disease will lead to major increases in costs to the healthcare system and society over the next two decades, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology (2024;119[2]:270-277). The annual cost of ALD is projected to more than double between 2022 and 2040, … Read more

The Harvard Gazette | Alvin Powell, Staff Writer | May 6, 2024 Study finds minimally invasive treatment more cost-effective over time, brings greater weight loss Interest in the latest generation of weight-loss drugs shows no sign of flagging, but a new study shows that a minimally invasive endoscopic bariatric procedure is actually more cost-effective and … Read more

STAT – By Neeraj Sood and Jagpreet Chhatwal July 14, 2023 Congress faces a historic opportunity to stamp out a disease that kills thousands of Americans each year and save billions of dollars to boot. In March, the Biden administration proposed an initiative to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States — a plan that should make sense to both … Read more

WBUR Martha Bebinger Massachusetts sets a new record for opioid overdose deaths in 2022. Jagpreet Chhatwal, Director of MGH Institute of Technology Assessment, talked with WBUR (Boston’s NPR station) regarding his recent study published in JAMA Network Open that evaluates policies for reducing overdose deaths. Massachusetts has set another record, one no one will celebrate. … Read more

The Harvard Gazette – by MGH Communications.   American Indian and Alaska Native populations particularly affected, finds study. During the pandemic, deaths from alcohol-associated liver disease for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations was six times higher than that of white people, according to a study by Massachusetts General Hospital. The study was published in … Read more

Adrianna Rodriguez, USA Today Research has shown people of color are disproportionately impacted by drug overdose deaths and access to treatment is limited. But even if they do find treatment, a new study found white patients receive care for an opioid use disorder longer than Black and Hispanic patients. Researchers at Harvard Medical School randomly sampled a … Read more

The analysis of 15 years of prescription data showed that the racial disparities are widening. By Emily Baumgaertner, New York Times November 9, 2022 Researchers have long known that racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to be prescribed lifesaving addiction treatment options than white people. But even when Black and Hispanic patients start a … Read more

Dr. Jag Chhatwal has announced Dr. Carrie Cunningham (nee Lubitz) is the Associate Director of the Institute for Technology Assessment (ITA). Dr. Cunningham is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Section head of the Massachusetts General Hospital Endocrine Surgery Unit, and has been a Senior Scientist at the ITA since 2013. Dr. Cunningham matriculated … Read more

A study simulating a population of 30 million people 65 and older found that wrist-wearable devices are more cost-effective than traditional electrocardiograms and pulse palpation for atrial fibrillation (AF) screening, and that they are associated with a reduction in stroke incidence. August 24, 2022 —  Screening individuals for atrial fibrillation (AF) using wearable devices is more cost-effective than screening … Read more