The California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), a core program of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), is a nationally-recognized community forum. CTAF convenes three times each year at public meetings to review objective evidence reports and develop recommendations for how stakeholders can apply evidence to improve the quality and value of health care. Learn more about the CTAF process, and find out how topics are selected.
CTAF directly engages clinicians, patients, and payers during public meetings to discuss implications of the evidence for clinical decision-making and coverage policies. Application of evidence takes shape through new medical policies, benefit designs, and patient and clinician tools to improve clinical care and patient outcomes. All members of the CTAF Panel must meet ICER’s criteria for Conflict of Interest.
For CTAF reports published prior to September 2013, please email info@icer-review.org
The box below provides information on the topic of the next meeting of CTAF. For more information about past and other upcoming meetings, see the box to the right.
Next Meeting
Cystic Fibrosis
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to indefinitely postpone our upcoming public meeting on modulator therapies for CF (originally slated for April 30). We have also decided to extend the current public comment period and slightly delay the release of our revised evidence report. The new dates are as follows:
- Public Comments now due 3/25 (originally 3/18)
- Evidence Report now posted on or about 4/27 (originally 4/9)
Voting Body
Afsaneh Barzi, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Oncology
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Afsaneh Barzi, MD, PhD is an associate professor of oncology at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. She specializes in the cancers of gastrointestinal organs. She is also an expert in quality and value of cancer care and serves on …
Ralph G. Brindis, MD, MPH, MACC, FSCAI, FAHA
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Ralph Brindis is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and serves on the affiliate faculty of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. He presently is the Senior …
Felicia Cohn, PhD
Bioethics Director
Kaiser Permanente, Orange County
Felicia Cohn, PhD, is the Bioethics Director for Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, and a Clinical Professor of Bioethics in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Dr. Cohn has served on several ethics committees …
Robert Collyar
Patient Advocate
Bob Collyar became a dedicated patient advocate with his wife’s first breast cancer in 1990. He was made a board member of Breast Cancer Action by its original leader in 1991, and he helped the group take lessons learned from …
Rena K. Fox, MD
Professor of Medicine
UCSF
Dr. Rena Fox is a Professor of Medicine at UCSF, where she has been on the faculty in the division of general internal medicine for 16 years. Dr. Fox is the sole faculty member at UCSF who is both a …
Luanda Grazette, MD, MPH, FACC
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California
Dr. Luanda Grazette is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), where she is also Co-director of Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy and is responsible for patient care …
Kimberly Gregory, MD, MPH
Vice Chair, Women's Healthcare Quality and Performance Improvement, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Dr. Kimberly Gregory is Vice Chair of Women’s Healthcare Quality and Performance Improvement, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Director of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Board certified in Ob/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, she is …
Paul Heidenreich, MD, MS
CTAF Chair; Professor and Vice-Chair for Quality, Clinical Affairs, and Analytics
Stanford University
Dr. Paul Heidenreich is Professor and Vice-Chair for Quality, Clinical Affairs, and Analytics in the Department of Medicine, and a Professor by courtesy of Health Research and Policy in the Stanford University School of Medicine. He serves as Chair of …
Jeffrey Hoch, PhD
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences and Associate Director, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research
University of California, Davis
Jeffrey Hoch received his PhD in health economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He also holds a Masters in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Quantitative Economics and Decision Sciences from …
Jeffrey Klingman, MD
Chief of Neurology
The Permanente Medical Group
Dr. Klingman serves as Chief of Neurology at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek. He also serves on a range of committees, including the New Technology Committee of The Permanente Medical Group, American Academy of Neurology, Movement Disorder Society, California Neurological …
Neal Kohatsu, MD, MPH, FACPM
Program Evaluator & Health Strategist
Institute for Population Health Improvement, UC Davis Health
Neal Kohatsu, MD, MPH, FACPM is currently a Program Evaluator & Health Strategist in preventive medicine and population health at the Institute for Population Health Improvement at UC Davis Health. He also serves on the Volunteer Clinical Faculty, Department of …
Annette Langer-Gould, MD, PhD
Regional Lead for Clinical and Translational Neuroscience
Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Annette Langer-Gould is the Regional Lead for Clinical and Translational Neuroscience for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group and practicing multiple sclerosis (MS) specialist at Los Angeles Medical Center. In her current role, she leads a team in Kaiser …
Sei Lee, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of California San Francisco
Dr. Sei Lee is an Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSF in the Division of Geriatrics. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and his medical degree from the University of Illinois-Rockford. He completed additional training in …
Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH
Director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and Professor of Family and Community Medicine
University of California, Davis
Dr. Joy Melnikow is the Director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on cancer screening and prevention in women, patient preferences, cost-effectiveness …
Elizabeth J. Murphy, MD, DPhil
Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of California San Francisco
Chief, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
Dr. Elizabeth Murphy is the Chief of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Division, Director of the Diabetes Center for High Risk Populations, and Specialty Lead of the eReferral Program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She is also a professor of …
Kathryn A. Philips, PhD
Professor of Health Economics and Health Services Research; Director and Founder, UCSF Center for Translational and Policy Research on Personalized Medicine; Dept. of Clinical Pharmacy/School of Pharmacy, UCSF Institute for Health Policy Studies, and UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
Kathryn A. Phillips, PhD is a professor of health economics and health services research at UCSF. Her expertise is on the implementation of new technologies to improve health care. In 2008, she founded the UCSF Center for Translational and Policy …
Rita F. Redberg, MD, MSc, FACC
Professor
UCSF School of Medicine
Dr. Rita Redberg has been a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine and Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Services at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) since 1990. Dr. Redberg is currently the Chief Editor of JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly Archives …
Robert E. Rentschler, MD
Retired
Beaver Medical Group
Dr. Rentschler received his medical degree from Loma Linda University (LLU) School of Medicine in 1970, and then completed his Internal Medicine residency from 1970-1972 at LLU Medical Center (interrupted by two years of Army medical service to 1974). He …
Richard Seiden, JD
Patient Advocate, Retired Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP
Richard F. Seiden is a retired partner and health care business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP in the Los Angeles office. His practice focused on all aspects of health care business counseling for health care providers, including formation of …
Joanna Smith, LCSW, MPH, CHA
Chief Executive Officer
Healthcare Liaison, Inc.
Joanna Smith is CEO of Healthcare Liaison, Inc. a health care advocacy and consulting practice in Berkeley, California. In addition to her practice, she is the developer and lead instructor of the Healthcare Liaison Credentialing Program in Healthcare Advocacy, a …
Alexander Smith, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
UCSF
Dr. Alex Smith is a clinician-researcher at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) who is at the forefront of efforts to integrate geriatrics and palliative care. Dr. Smith’s research program focuses on improving palliative care for vulnerable and dependent …
Anthony Sowry, BA
Patient Advocate and Lead Volunteer, California, National Patient Advocate Foundation; Senior Vice President, Maritime Container Shipping (Retired)
Anthony Sowry is a lead volunteer in California for the National Patient Advocate Foundation, a DC-based health care advocacy nonprofit organization. Anthony recently retired after a 40-year career in the international maritime shipping industry, rising to Senior Vice President, Acquisitions …
