OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to gather information from individuals involved in the decision-making process for determining the value of healthcare interventions. METHODS: In April 2007, healthcare decision makers from organizations across the US were invited to participate in a focus group discussion. Prior to the focus group, participants completed a questionnaire, which inquired about the challenges and/or opportunities associated with using health economic and outcomes research information in the decision-making process. RESULTS: Nine individuals with an average of over 14 years experience, representing major managed care and pharmacy benefit management organizations, the Veteran's Affairs Department, and Academia participated. The three most challenging issues to health care decision makers included: 1) filtering through all the information needed to determine value; 2) agreeing with the key assumptions used in models and/or research reports; and 3) accepting model projections as an accurate reflection of outcomes that may be seen in their own patient populations. Findings revealed that decision makers are looking for more customization, more applicability to their own organizations, and increased transparency when reviewing outcomes research and/or health economic models. Other key findings included, decision maker interest in being involved in the development of tools and models from early phases, maximizing the user-friendly aspect of models (without compromising transparency), development of tools that help decision makers analyze real-world data, and the need for education and training as an essential component of successful implementation of health economic models and tools. CONCLUSION: This investigation gives critical insight into how future health economic and outcomes research models and data analysis tools should be developed. As payer needs continue to evolve, so must the models and analysis tools that are developed, especially if they are expected to continue to be used in the decision-making process.