Clinical Research Support (CRS) is a critical component of Hayes client services that provides individual assistance to clients with questions related to Hayes health technology assessments and information. CRS is provided by a team of registered nurses with clinical experience, advanced research training, and expertise in biomedical information who are adept at helping Hayes clients find the information that they need. Two levels of support are offered through the CRS team: Core CRS and Custom Support.

Core CRS is an integral part of every Hayes subscription and provides the best available information to clients in order to directly answer their questions. Clients can obtain help in interpreting reports in the Hayes Knowledge Center and can receive complimentary, focused research for questions regarding technologies that are related to those currently addressed in the Knowledge Center.

Custom Support is a premium service that gives clients access to a wide variety of technology research products and educational programs designed to address their specific business needs. Hayes analysts and the CRS nurses work with clients to determine the resources, information, and format that will most appropriately answer their questions regarding health technologies. Examples of Custom Support include ad hoc research, comparative effectiveness reviews, webinars, on-site workshops, and consulting projects.

Sample Clinical Research Support Questions (includes both Core and Custom requests)
Payer:

• Do you have any information about autologous islet cell transplants for children undergoing pancreatectomy due to chronic pancreatitis?
• Do you have any information regarding laser treatment of alopecia areata?
• Do you have information on stem cell collection during orthopedic surgery?
• Can you provide information about a test performed to determine the presence of a mutated BRCA protein? It involves taking a swab from the inner cheek of a patient to obtain buccal cells, which are assayed for the presence of the BRCA protein.
• I need to know how long Regranex can be used continuously for the treatment of foot or heel ulcers.

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Providers:

• Can you please send us any supporting documentation for minimally invasive colectomy using the “GelPort System” from Applied Medical?
• I would like more information about the payment issues and cost analysis of paliperidone palmitate (Invega), particularly in reference to initiation in an inpatient setting.
• I would like to know if there are any studies that compare the clinical efficacy of knee-length sequential compression device (SCD) sleeves vs. thigh-length SCD sleeves.
• We currently provide the “Essure procedure” but we have physicians interested in “Adiana”. Can you provide us with clinical data supporting the use of Adiana by Hologic?
• Does your organization have any financial return on investment (ROI) information related to utilization of pneumatic tube transport and hospital function/length of stay/costs?

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