About CERTs
Annual Report Year 2
Preface | Steering Committee Letter | Introduction | Focus on the Centers | Focus on the Program | Conclusion | CERTs Organization | Glossary
Preface
Dear Colleague:
The Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) program is a national initiative that began in 1999, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The goal of the CERTs program is to increase awareness of the benefits and risks of new, existing, or combined uses of therapeutics through education and research, and thereby improve the effectiveness and safety of the use of therapeutics.
This second annual report documents the progress of the CERTs toward achieving this goal. With seven centers now funded, the CERTs have initiated work on or completed an impressive number of projects. Each of these projects adds to our knowledge base and furthers our understanding of how therapeutics work-and can work more safely and effectively. In the second year of the program, the CERTs have begun to identify the questions that we, as researchers, must ask ourselves: "Who is affected?" and "How many?" They have examined causal relationships that may help answer the "Why?" question of drug interactions. And they are attempting to build on evidence and research in the field to answer the questions, "What works?," "What doesn't work?," "When?," and "For whom?"
The CERTs also are identifying effective ways to improve our use of therapeutics and how to communicate and convey research findings so that there is a greater possibility of adoption and dissemination in the field. Finally, the CERTs are synthesizing their findings to translate the results for use in specific clinical settings.
We are very pleased to provide you with this report on the work of the CERTs. We look forward to the continued advancement of our therapeutics knowledge base in the years to come.
Sincerely,
-John M. Eisenberg, MD, MBA,
Director, AHRQ
AHRQ, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care, reduce its cost, improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, and broaden access to essential services. AHRQ sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes, quality, cost, use, and access. The information helps health care decision-makers-patients, caregivers, health system leaders, and policy-makers-make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.