The current interest in comparative effectiveness research, highlighted by the US Congress 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the broader national debate about health care reform in the United States, is a welcome development for those with a long-standing interest in research on the effectiveness of health care interventions. Toiling in relative obscurity for decades, “outcomes researchers” now find themselves at the center of a field of inquiry that promises to improve not just the quality of care, but also the affordability and sustainability of a sector that accounts for one-sixth of the US economy.