The October 2012 issue of Health Affairs features a cluster of articles on comparative effectiveness research (CER) and the challenges associated in communicating and applying the results. Editor-in-Chief Susan Dentzer and the journal staff collaborated on a hypothetical CER case study to illustrate how research findings can be applied to decision making, how pharmaceutical companies and health professionals can communicate the results, and the obstacles that arise when translating CER studies into policy and practice. AcademyHealth member Justin Timbie, RAND, contributed to the article “Five Reasons That Many Comparative Effectiveness Studies Fail To Change Patient Care And Clinical Practice.” He and his co-authors evaluated various CER studies from the past decade and identified the top five barriers to dissemination and utilization: financial incentives, ambiguity of study results, cognitive biases, failure of the research to address the needs of end users, and limited use of decision support by patients and clinicians. We had a chance to hear Timbie speak on this topic at the 2012 ARM. There, he and other panelists stressed the need to consider the needs of the end user to help increase uptake, and urged researchers to seek out more collaboration opportunities with patients and clinicians when designing and conducting studies. This month’s issue of the journal has a wealth of information on best practices for communicating CER studies. The following AcademyHealth members had their work featured in the issue: Five Reasons That Many Comparative Effectiveness Studies Fail To Change Patient Care And Clinical Practice Justin W. Timbie, Eric C. Schneider The Food And Drug Administration Has The Legal Basis To Restrict Promotion Of Flawed Comparative Effectiveness Research Aaron S. Kesselheim Evidence Of No Benefit From Knee Surgery For Osteoarthritis Led To Coverage Changes And Is Linked To Decline In Procedures David Howard In Medicare Part D Plans, Low Or Zero Copays And Other Features To Encourage The Use Of Generic Statins Work, Could Save Billions John F. Hoadley and Laura Summer The Large Social Value Resulting From Use Of Statins Warrants Steps To Improve Adherence And Broaden Treatment David C. Grabowski, Michael E. Chernew Secondary Patenting Of Branded Pharmaceuticals: A Case Study Of How Patents On Two HIV Drugs Could Be Extended For Decades Aaron S. Kesselheim Simulation Shows Hospitals That Cooperate On Infection Control Obtain Better Results Than Hospitals Acting Alone Margaret A. Potter, Richard Platt Health Benefits In 2012: Moderate Premium Increases For Employer-Sponsored Plans; Young Adults Gained Coverage Under ACA Heidi Whitmore, Awo Osei-Anto The New Era Of Payment Reform, Spending Targets, And Cost Containment In Massachusetts: Early Lessons For The Nation John E. McDonough Health Affairs is an official journal of AcademyHealth.