Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP)

Topics

Cost Effectiveness/Efficiency

Methods/Approaches

Cost Effectiveness Analysis

Epidemic Modeling

Overview

CEP is a network of health economists dedicated to achieving the potential of psychedelic therapies for high-priority mental health conditions. Through the application of policy-relevant economic analyses, CEP seeks to enhance clinical outcomes, increase efficiency of service delivery, and increase access to these promising therapies for everyone who can benefit. Here is a partial list of current projects:

In collaboration with the Psychedelic Mental Health Access Alliance (PHMAA) evaluating the economics of care delivery models for marginalized individuals, including Medicaid-fundable models; and developing a uniform set of service delivery variables for psychedelic services providers.
In collaboration with the Usona Institute, modeling the cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat major depressive disorders.
In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, evaluating the cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy for smoking cessation. Under review at JAMA Open.
ORCHID: Oregon-Colorado Regulated Psychedelic Care: Healthcare Impacts & Decisions-ORCHID will generate real-world evidence linking state-regulated psilocybin services to changes in healthcare costs, utilization patterns and outcomes—evidence that insurers, employers, and policymakers need before coverage decisions become possible. In partnership with the Sheri Eckert Foundation and UCSF's Carhart-Harris Lab, the study combines a retrospective arm for rapid findings with a prospective longitudinal arm for deeper outcome and safety data, all running on shared infrastructure that can be made available to other research initiatives as well. The analytic plan is complete and we have received UC Berkeley's IRB approval. We are seeking philanthropic investment to carry ORCHID to full implementation
Consensus Well-Being Measure for Clinical Trials - In collaboration with co-investigators at UC Berkeley, UCSF, Imperial College London, and the University of Wisconsin CEP is developing a policy case and methodological roadmap for elevating validated well-being measures to primary or co-primary endpoint status in psychiatric and substance-use-disorder trials intended to support FDA approval. We use psychedelic trials as an illustrative use case. A manuscript is under review at Lancet Psychiatry.