About CERTs
Annual Report Year 6
AHRQ Letter | Steering Committee Letter | Introduction | CERTs Progress | Certs Program Resources | Certs Parnerships and Collaborations | Conclusion | The CERTs Organization | Principles of CERTs Public-Private Partnerships | Peer-Reviewed Publications
Introduction
The Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) program serves the American people by providing valuable information to health care providers, patients, and policymakers about the benefits, risks, and appropriate use of medical therapies. The CERTs mission is to uncover this information and to make it widely known.
The CERTs program consists of a network of research centers, a coordinating center, a steering committee, and numerous partnerships with public and private organizations dedicated to improving the quality and safety of therapeutics. In this report, projects are grouped into three main categories: (1) advancing knowledge about therapeutics, (2) informing health care providers, patients, and policymakers about that knowledge, and (3) improving aspects of the health care system related to therapeutics.
CERTs projects cover diverse topics, ranging from the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections to the role of the news media in communicating medical risks. As we complete our sixth year of work, we remain involved in research related to some of the most challenging medical issues of the day. The centers are also taking a leading role in educating health care providers and the public on the effects of the drugs, devices, and biological products that play such an important role in our health care system. These activities include research on educational efforts ranging from public-information campaigns to Webbased instruction. The CERTs program is committed to finding the most effective ways to provide information to policymakers, health care workers, and the public alike.
This report highlights the various CERTs research and educational projects completed over the past year, as well as several projects in progress.
The CERTs program is administered as a cooperative agreement by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The CERTs receive funds from both public and private sources, with AHRQ providing core financial support.
Examples of Medical Therapies |
|
| THERAPY | EXAMPLES |
| Drugs | Prescription medications; over-the-counter medicines |
| Medical devices | Coronary stents; blood glucose monitors |
| Biological products | Vaccines; blood products |
The Centers * |
|
| CENTER | EMPHASIS |
| Duke University Medical Center | Therapies for disorders of the heart and blood vessels |
| HMO Research Network | Use, safety, and effectiveness studies of therapeutics, using health plans for defined populations |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | Therapies for musculoskeletal disorders |
| University of Arizona Health Sciences Center | Detection and prevention of adverse drug interactions |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Therapies for children |
| University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine | Therapies for infection; reduction in antibiotic resistance |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Prescription drug use in Medicaid and veteran populations |
* In fiscal year 2006 (outside the timeframe for this report), four additional centers were added: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey: Mental health; University of Iowa: Older adults; University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine: Consumers and patient adherence; Weill Medical College of Cornell University: Medical devices.