In This Issue

Director's Letter

Director's Letter
by Seth A. Eisen, M.D., M.Sc.

Last January, HSR&D launched its pilot study research initiative. Pilot study submissions are a maximum of 10 pages, one year duration, and $100,000. The goals of the pilot study program are to encourage the collection of data to improve the quality of subsequent Investigator Initiated Research (IIR) proposals...

Commentary

Opportunities for Ensuring a Safe Environment
by Cynthia Caroselli, R.N., Ph.D., VA New York Harbor Health Care System, New York, New York

Systems must encourage safety in patient care and eliminate opportunities for error. An interdisciplinary approach can refocus organizational goals so that quality and safety drive clinical initiatives...

Response to Commentary

Building a Culture of Patient Safety
by Maude Rittman, Ph.D., R.N., North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Healthcare System, Gainesville, Florida

The VHA is well positioned to build research programs to test organizational strategies for each of the building blocks of learning organizations and to disseminate research-based information to help leadership teams use these strategies to build a stronger culture of safety in their facilities...

Research Highlights

The Prescription Drug Facts Box: Helping Doctors and Patients Make Wise Choices
by Lisa M. Schwartz, M.D., M.S., and Steven Woloshin, M.D., M.S., VA Outcomes Group, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont

Helping patients make informed decisions is fundamental to good medical practice and has long been a VA priority. Drug facts boxes—ideally produced by the FDA—would help inform decisions about prescription drugs...

Suicide Prevention
Marcia Valenstein, M.D., M.S., Research Scientist, Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Clinical Management Research, and the Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research and Evaluation Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Given the limited evidence for the effectiveness of most suicide prevention efforts, further research in this area is imperative. The VHA has large patient numbers, a strong mandate to reduce suicide rates among its patients, and coordinated roll outs of suicide prevention programs...

Organizational Profile

New Center of Excellence in Tampa, Florida
by Gail Powell-Cope, Ph.D., ARNP, FAAN, HSR&D/RR&D Center of Excellence, Tampa, Florida

Under the leadership of Dr. Audrey Nelson, investigators at the HSR&D/RR&D Center of Excellence (COE) in Tampa, Florida have made significant contributions to both staff and patient safety in VA and in health care across the country...

Other

HSR&D Research Featured in Journal Supplements and Special Issue

VA HSR&D research is featured in two special journal supplements—Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development (JRRD) and the Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM), and in one special issue of Pain Medicine...

HSR&D Deputy Director Named

Effective August 2009, VA’s Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) welcomed Andrew Guccione PT, PhD, DPT, FAPTA, as its Deputy Director...