About CERTs
Annual Report Year 2
Preface | Steering Committee Letter | Introduction | Focus on the Centers | Focus on the Program | Conclusion | CERTs Organization | Glossary
Letter from the Steering Committee
Dear Fellow Citizens:
We have very good news: The number of CERTs projects has more than doubled, from 40 last year to 98 this year. Even more important, some of these projects already have begun to make a difference in the lives of Americans. Even though three of our seven centers came on board only within the last quarter of Year 1, we've strengthened our infrastructure, attracted more collaborators, and refined the systems and processes of this multifaceted, national program. Our unique collaborations with many different groups-government agencies, academic organizations, insurance companies, drug and device companies, caregivers (such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists), commercial research groups, and consumer groups-also have provided unprecedented opportunities for mutual learning.
The concept of a public-private partnership was largely untested in programs such as CERTs when we began our work. Although new situations will always present themselves, we now have in place a working system for such partnerships, which we hope to expand even more in the years to come.
Most important, there is always a delay between the discovery of new information (which itself takes time) and its application. We continue to perform research on therapeutics and get the results into the hands of people who need them, so that they can take informed action to improve health.
In short, then, our second year was necessarily a time during which we refined the program, learning several lessons along the way. One of the most important lessons we learned was that, much as we'd like to "do it all," we can't, at least not yet. We've learned to be selective, to focus our efforts on projects that are feasible and that will have a tangible effect on health.
We also continued to take advantage of our several strengths: an experienced coordinating center, strong research and educational centers, committed participants, and a determination to collaborate.
The combination of our strengths and a focused strategy allowed us to complete 40 projects this past year. We're very proud of this, but we know that much work remains.
We are happy to report the many real achievements of Year 2, and we look forward to addressing the many challenges that still lie ahead.
-Hugh Tilson, MD, DrPH
Chair, on behalf of the CERTs Steering Committee:
- Lynn Bosco, MD, MPH; Robert M. Califf, MD;
- William H. Campbell, PhD; Lisa Egbuonu-Davis, MD;
- Linda Golodner; Peter Honig, MD, MPH;
- Judith M. Kramer, MD, MS; Richard Platt, MD, MSc;
- Wayne A. Ray, PhD; Kenneth G. Saag, MD, MSc;
- Marcel Salive, MD, MPH; Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH;
- Karen Williams; Raymond L. Woosley, MD, PhD