Dr. Vogel mentioned that most of the time, costs are covered by the agency sponsoring the trial. Peter Goldschmidt, MD, DrPH, DMS, President of Medical Care Management Corporation an external review company discussed some aspects of his five year old company. They advise patients at no charge as to best treatments, and review doctors advice. They advise on issues of high technology, high risk, rare treatments, quality management and workers' compensation. There are over 500 credentialed clinical reviewers at over 100 medical centers, reviewers are matched to each case avoiding conflicts of interest with 3 members per panel.
All questions relate solely to the individual patient.
They check benefits and risk of treatment to patient. Finally, some health plans share the reviews with the patients and clinicians and new information on options are provided to the patient. Arthur Levin, VP, Technology and Clinical Practice Assessment, Prudential HealthCare stated that it is his group that decides what treatments have scientific merit and what will be covered. They are currently researching what makes women get mammograms and why. He said some companies will call on leading experts in a field for their opinions or to elicit the prevailing opinions.