Comparative effectiveness research – which aims to improve the quality of health-care services and help people make more informed decisions – is the theme of the sixth annual Chapel Hill Drug Conference, May 11-12, at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

More than 100 experts from academia, industry and regulatory agencies are expected to attend. It begins with an evening reception and poster session on May 11, followed by a daylong program of more than 15 scientific presentations on May 12.

The conference will cover comparative effectiveness research methods, applications and how to disseminate them into practice. Scott Smith, Ph.D., senior service fellow in the Center for Outcomes and Evidence at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will deliver the keynote address. Smith’s address will be webcast live at 8 a.m. EDT at pharmacy.unc.edu/tv.

Other speakers include Doris Peter, manager of the Consumer Reports Ratings Center, Consumer’s Union, and Marian McDonagh, Pharm.D., Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine. Peter will share how Consumer Reports uses comparative effectiveness research to disseminate information to the public. McDonagh will speak about her experiences implementing systematic reviews and translating comparative effectiveness findings into policies in state Medicaid programs.

Attendees can earn up to seven hours of continuing-education credit in accordance with the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

The conference is sponsored by the N.C. TraCS Institute, the UNC-GSK Center for Excellence in Pharmacoepidemiology and Public Health; and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.

For more information and to register, see the conference website at pharmacy.unc.edu/chdc.