Sutter Institute for Medical Research 2008 Annual Report

Grant Enables SIMR to Pursue Key Goal
We have long believed that SIMR’s uncommon
position as a research entity within a community
hospital system would make it possible to employ
research to address issues that affect patients being
cared for in several settings over an extended period
of time. While most clinical research focuses on
one aspect of diagnosis or treatment, patient care
in the real world is a mixture of people, processes,
medications and medical devices that each affects the
patient’s outcome. In addition, conditions typically
begin long before hospital admission and seldom
completely resolve before hospital discharge. To
determine the most effective diagnosis and treatment
strategies, researchers must analyze the full care
continuum, provide statistically meaningful results
and translate those results into best practice models
other health care providers can replicate.
In 2008, SIMR, the Sutter Health Institute for
Research and Education (SHIRE) and SHSSR Clinical
Integrations received an unrestricted grant from
sanofi-aventis to study the process of care for patients
with or at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE).
Though sanofi-aventis produces drugs used to treat
both conditions, this study is not tied in any way
to any products, and the decision to publish lies
solely with us. The study combines clinical research
and business process engineering, working with
key stakeholders to identify the ideal model of care,
interviewing patients and conducting literature
reviews. By analyzing each step along the care
continuum and quantifying findings, the research
team will develop a practical model shown to
deliver the best outcomes in patients with a deep
vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism. Once the
model has been verified, the study includes funding to
produce educational materials that will enable Sutter to
disseminate the model across the system.
According to Tom Leonard, grant manager for the study,
“The study allows us to expand the nature, scope and
purpose of research beyond clinical trials by examining
the processes related to care. While businesses
commonly develop and share best practices, health
care providers only do so in segments that have been
validated through research. In a sense, this takes the best
of both disciplines by extending the rigors of research
to all aspects of care, which will link the validated
segments into a sequence of best practices.”
Leonard adds, “This is very much a patient-centered
study. We’ll look critically at our current practices and
explore any blind spots so that the model we develop
and disseminate raises the standard of care across our
entire system. Of course, we’ll freely share the model
through peer-reviewed publications and conference
presentations so that other health care providers and
their patients will also benefit from what we learn.”
“The study allows
us to expand the
nature, scope and
purpose of research
beyond clinical trials
by examining the
processes related to
care.”