Conference on Emergency Care Research Networks
On May 28, 2008, the day before the SAEM national meeting in Washington DC officially begins, the Conference on Emergency Care Networks will explore key questions about the best ways to conduct efficient multi-center clinical research in emergency care, as such research is a requirement if we are to improve patient outcomes. Answers to pre-conference questions regarding the definition of emergency care, advantages of research networks, and measures of success have been sought from over 100 participants. This collective brainstorming has allowed the steering committee to plan the breakout group discussions to maximize both consensus and to find creative solutions.
Participants will include established leaders in Emergency Care Research (ECR) and ECR networks, individual investigators, patient advocacy group representatives, employees of funding agencies, and other stakeholders. A combination of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and small breakout groups will examine the nature, strength and limitations of existing ECR networks.
Why is this meeting so important? The ongoing development of clinical research networks with emergency care focus, the expansion of the NIH-supported Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, and the 2006 Institute of Medicine report on the future of emergency care have, together, created an opportunity and illustrated the need to define optimal means of performing ECR in cost-effective networks that span academic institutions, communities, and geographic areas. SAEM is rising to meet this need.
As most of us in Emergency Medicine are aware, there are over 110 million annual ED visits in the USA. Time-sensitive disease states such as cardiac and brain ischemia, sepsis, traumatic injury, and community-acquired infection may be best investigated within a multidisciplinary and translational context.
Goals for the Conference include the identification of unique features of emergency care clinical and translational research, describing the state of ECR networks; and the development of a consensus on the optimal structure, components, effectiveness and evaluation of ECR networks.
Good news for those SAEM members who will be arriving after the Conference on Emergency Care Networks – the Consensus manuscripts will be provided free of charge on the SAEM website.
. (posted May 22, 2008)
<<< Speaker's PowerPoint slides and other files available via links on the left. <<<
Submitted by SAEM Communications Committee Member:
Kathleen Clem, MD / Loma Linda University
Edits by Roger J. Lewis, MD, PhD / Harbor – UCLA Medical Center
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