|
|
ACP News
ACP establishes Research Institute for Health Outcomes
ALBANY,
N.Y. (November 6, 2006) - Responding to the rapidly increasing need for high-quality,
scientifically sound medical and financial data in health outcomes and pharmacoeconomic
research, ACP has established the Research Institute for Health Outcomes (RIHO).
The institute merges the research activities and clinical expertise of more than a dozen ACP faculty members into a diverse, transdisciplinary group that will work in collaboration with researchers locally, nationally and internationally. With RIHO Director Leon Cosler, Ph.D.
escalating health care costs providing a sig-
nificant challenge to global economies, the institute will deliver empirical results aimed at maximizing patient care with limited financial resources.
"As our faculty has grown in size and diversity this decade through the college's strategic plan, we have developed a concentrated focus area in these critical disciplines," said Dean Mehdi Boroujerdi, Pharm.D., Ph.D. "We are well positioned to take a leading role in health outcomes and pharmacoeconomic research, providing much-needed data that will benefit both patients and providers."
This is the second institute ACP has developed this decade, joining the Pharmaceutical Research Institute launched in 2002 under the direction of Shaker A. Mousa, Ph.D. RIHO will complement PRI's focus on research and development in drug discovery and delivery, allowing the college to generate cutting-edge data on the full spectrum of medication research, development, management and efficacy.
Leon E. Cosler, Ph.D., will serve as RIHO's inaugural director. An assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Dr. Cosler has worked at ACP since 2001 and formerly served as director of research for the New York State Medicaid program. Patrick D. Meek, Pharm.D., also an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, is the institute's assistant director.
RIHO faculty have extensive research experience in patient care and economic decision analysis modeling for diseases such as cancer, HIV, hepatitis B, kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease and infectious diseases. Additional areas of focus include complementary and alternative medicine, macro-economic modeling, pharmacoepidemiology of drug delivery, application of treatment guidelines to practice and adverse drug events.
The institute's research will focus in the following areas:
"With such a large number of the college's faculty involved in the institute, each with their own area of expertise, ACP has a unique opportunity to become a leader in health outcomes research," Dr. Cosler said. "The opportunities for collaborative work on our own campus and with researchers at other institutions will deliver valuable data to improve both the quality and affordability of health care."
Faculty collaborations currently include those with New York State 's Medicaid Drug Utilization Review program, the Thomson-Medstat Marketscan Database, Stratton Veteran's Administration Medical Center and the Upstate New York Consortium for Health Care Policy and Research.
Founded in 1881, Albany College of Pharmacy is the oldest pharmacy school in New York state and one of the only private, independent pharmacy schools in the United States . The college has a long history of serving its students and health care professionals as one of the premier pharmacy colleges in the nation. The college now enters a new era in health care with a focus not only on pharmacy, but also on pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical technology and research.