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Health Relevance

The Health Care Systems (HCS) Research Collaboratory program is working to strengthen the national capacity to implement cost-effective, large-scale research studies where health care delivery organizations are research partners. Results from traditional clinical trials performed in controlled settings on a tightly defined group of individuals have limited relevance in real-world health care settings. The Collaboratory supports implementation of clinical trials called “pragmatic clinical trials,” which are conducted at the site of care with healthcare delivery organizations actively participating in the research.

This program is providing a framework of implementation methods and best practices to enable participation by many health care systems. These methods and practices are being honed within the context of pragmatic clinical trials, which measure the effectiveness of treatment options in real-world settings. A Coordinating Center serves as the central resource for the guidelines and practices developed by the Collaboratory, which it distributes to the research community through a living textbook (link is external). The pragmatic clinical trial projects supported by the Collaboratory address questions of major public health impact. Information regarding whether the interventions improve health outcomes of patients will be broadly disseminated through a variety of mechanisms to help improve provider decision making and patient outcomes.

Current pragmatic trials are investigating the following topics:

Why Should I Join a Clinical Trial?

Watch a video of Dr. Griffin P. Rogers, director of the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) as he discusses the importance of clinical research, why people should consider joining a clinical trial, and the vital role participants play in improving public health.

Learn more at NIH Clinical Research Trials and You and the NIDDK Clinical Trials webpages.

This page last reviewed on January 30, 2024