We work to develop an integrated body of knowledge about health care and to help the VA and the broader health care community plan and adapt to changes associated with health care reform.
In order to achieve this mission, we have the following goals:
- Improve the organization and delivery of health care services; we identify how to organize health care services to best meet patients' needs
- Improve diagnostic assessment, screening procedures, and clinical decisionmaking; to aid staff in clinical practice, we refine clinical decisionmaking techniques and examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of diagnostic methods and treatment
- Improve treatment for substance use and psychiatric disorders; we find out what treatments work and how to match patients to the best treatment for their condition
- Improve health services research methods; to better attain our other goals, we improve techniques for measuring program characteristics, health status and outcomes, and costs
In planning our research in these four areas, we have a vision of an effective health care system. In addition to the broad principles of access, quality, and cost-effectiveness, we think health care should:
- Consider the whole person, including psychosocial and life context factors and primary as well as secondary and tertiary prevention
- Inform patients and enable them to be active partners in choosing, planning, and maintaining care
- Establish continuity and coordination of care across treatment settings and providers
- Use outcome-based practice guidelines to match patients with effective treatment and deliver personalized care guided by flexible standards of care
- Encompass informal systems of care, such as mutual help groups, volunteers, and family caregivers
- Create an effective work environment for health care staff.
