Long Term Goals:
The work of CECS has important implications for medical practice and for medical economics. At the micro level, it holds the promise of re-forming the doctor-patient relationship to a model in which informed patients and physicians make choices in a dynamic partnership. At the macro level, the evaluative clinical sciences can provide the sound basis on which rational policy choices and resource allocations are made.
With national efforts at reform now underway, there is new emphasis on the aggregate costs of a system which absorbs an ever-greater share of the gross domestic product, and new interest in information about effective and efficient care that is truly wanted by patients. For policy makers at all levels, from community hospitals to the White House, information about effective and efficient medical care that is actually wanted by patients is critical to finding solutions to the current crisis.
As described previously in these materials, the Department, through CECS, offers masters and doctoral programs in the evaluative clinical sciences. These programs engage students from a variety of disciplines-- physicians, administrators, health policy makers and provide practical and immediate help in applying the principles and the findings of the evaluative clinical sciences to the real world of health care policy and delivery.
Evaluation:
CECS is considered to be one of the hallmarks of Dartmouth Medical School and a "center of excellence" in the national health care arena. In addition to its ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty researchers, the value of CECS is confirmed through its impressive funding and publishing record. CECS continues to receive growing research support from prestigious and competitive funders including the RWJ Foundation, AHCPR, NIH , American Hospital Association, several pharmaceutical companies and others. More locally, the goals of CECS and the dissemination of its findings have become central tenants of DMS's new strategic plan. CECS and its faculty promise to be active players in decision-making at all levels of the institution.
Continuous evaluation is clearly a core value of CECS, and takes place not only as part of outcomes research, but as part of professional and personal development. For example, on-going evaluation of research projects (both internal and external to CECS) are opened up to informal peer review through weekly Research in Progress (RIP) luncheons. These presentations provide opportunities for researchers, educators and students to give input and ask questions about topics related to outcomes, utilization and quality.
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