Health Policy Research

The Division of Clinical Decision Making has been involved with numerous consensus conferences and guideline development processes for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Institute of Medicine (IOM), American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), American College of Physicians (ACP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) sponsored Patient Outcome Research Teams (PORTs) on Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and Diabetes Mellitus.

Through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) sponsored Tufts Evidence-based Practice Center in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, the Division helps synthesize “scientific evidence to improve quality and effectiveness in health care.”

The Division has been involved with assessing appropriate use for the American College of Cardiology Foundation to improve "the utilization of cardiovascular procedures in an efficient and contemporary fashion" and the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention (EGAPP) to "support the development of a systematic process for assessing the available evidence regarding the validity and utility of rapidly emerging genetic tests for clinical practice."

Members of the Division have training in the Theory of Constraints which "provides a set of holistic processes and rules, all based on a systems approach that exploits the inherent simplicity within complex systems through focusing on the few 'leverage points' as a way to synchronize the parts to achieve ongoing improvement in the performance of the system as a whole." The Division has also been involved with the American Medical Association Physician Consortium for Practice Improvement to enhance "quality and patient safety, and fostering accountability" by leading efforts "in developing, testing and implementing evidence-based performance measures for use at the point of care."

• John B. Wong, MD
• Brian J. Cohen, MD
• Jerome P. Kassirer, MD

Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington St., #302
Boston, MA 02111

Call: 617.636.5934
Fax: 617.636.4838