One of the units of the Center for Health Care Evaluation is a VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center of Excellence (COE). The COE shares the name "Center for Health Care Evaluation" with the overall organization. It is one of 13 COEs that have been established nationwide to improve the quality of health care for veterans by studying the impact of the organization, financing and/or management of health care on access to, and the quality, cost, and/or outcomes of health care services.

The HSR&D COE housed at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System has four main goals:

1. Conduct high-quality health services research that results in more effective and cost-effective care for veterans and for the nation's population as a whole.
   More specifically, the COE seeks to develop new knowledge in four areas:
   (a) organization and delivery of health care services; (b)diagnostic assessment, screening, and clinical decision-making; (c) process and outcome of treatment for substance use and psychiatric disorders; and (d) health care evaluation methodology.

2. Disseminate findings and apply research results to improve veterans' health care.

3. Provide technical expertise and guidance to national and local organizations and to individuals.

4. Provide high-quality health services research and medical informatics training.

The HSR&D COE is affiliated with the Stanford University School of Medicine and with the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Institute for Health Policy at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Center for Mental Health Services Research at the University of California, Berkeley.