Medical treatment effectiveness research. A view from inside the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research

The Medical Treatment Effectiveness Program (MEDTEP) is an intradepartmental federal program of the Department of Health and Human Services, for which the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) has lead responsibility. This article presents a staff perspective on the conceptual framework for the MEDTEP research agenda and on the opportunity to address empirically the relationships between particular health care services and patient outcomes. It reviews programmatic priorities and identifies active MEDTEP research projects, with descriptions of 11 patient outcomes research team projects. Finally, it addresses the need to produce useful research findings in the short term and the implications of a dual concern for the quality and cost of health care.