The Mission of the Center is to facilitate research, promote education and inform policy about health and healthcare.

The Goals of this Mission are to improve the health of the public by contributing new knowledge about:
          • access
          • delivery
          • cost
          • outcomes

Current emphases include disparities, clinician-patient interaction, utilization, cost-effectiveness and quality.

The Center is an interdisciplinary, collaborative research unit that will perform the following Functions:
          • development and support of interdisciplinary collaboration on research projects related to the              Center’s Mission
          • education and career development for scholars with interests in health services and health policy              research
          • synthesis, interpretation and dissemination of research findings that assist healthcare policy              formation and improve health services delivery

As part of our mission, the CHPR is implementing a strong focus on Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER).  The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, in the Report to the President and the Congress on Comparative Effectiveness Research, defines CER in this way: 

“Comparative effectiveness research is the conduct and synthesis of research comparing the benefits and harms of different interventions and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat and monitor health conditions in “real world” settings. The purpose of this research is to improve health outcomes by developing and disseminating evidence-based information to patients, clinicians, and other decision-makers, responding to their expressed needs, about which interventions are most effective for which patients under specific circumstances.

• To provide this information, comparative effectiveness research must assess a comprehensive array of health-related outcomes for diverse patient populations and sub-groups.
• Defined interventions compared may include medications, procedures, medical and assistive devices and technologies, diagnostic testing, behavioral change, and delivery system strategies.
• This research necessitates the development, expansion, and use of a variety of data sources and methods to assess comparative effectiveness and actively disseminate the results.”

The CHPR believes this focus complements its mission statement, and will continue to make information available on Comparative Effectiveness Research as well as CER opportunities for researchers.