Our Purpose

Mission

The mission of the Comparative Effectiveness, Cost and Outcomes Research Center (CECORC) is to discover the most cost-effective, evidence-based approaches to improving the health of patients and populations, and to identify ways to put these improvements into practice. CECORC’s primary emphasis is to evaluate medical devices, diagnostics and medical procedures. The research group carries out this mission by conducting innovative research, participating in clinical, database, other comparative studies, advancing the state of scientific knowledge through publications and education initiatives, and improving methodologies for studying the costs, quality, and outcomes of medical care. CECORC investigators are committed to promoting collaborative, multidisciplinary cost and outcomes research, and to providing opportunities for fellows, residents and students to participate in comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and outcomes research.

Values

CECORC brings together diverse investigators who have a common interest in health technology assessment and evaluating the value of medical technologies and procedures. Having a community of researchers and shared resources most importantly enhances the ability of individuals within the group to obtain extramural funding related to health services research in their respective fields. CECORC is a tangible center that has a strong publication record whose investigators are nationally and internationally recognized for their research. CECORC fills a much needed niche at the University of Washington and regionally with its focus on the evaluation of medical technologies and procedures. Every Department and School involved with the health sciences is a potential collaborator. From a health policy perspective, State and Federal initiatives are now promoting comparative effectiveness and other type of health services research. In addition, private and public payers are increasing their standards for organizations to demonstrate evidence of value and appropriateness for medical products and procedures. Reimbursement policies are becoming more value-based, which directly relates to the core organizational objectives of CECORC, i.e., developing, evaluating, and disseminating evidence of value for medical technologies.