Center of Excellence in Primary Care

Built on the partnership of the family medicine, medicine, and pediatrics departments, the University of Minnesota Center of Excellence in Primary Care (COEPC) was launched in 2008 to promote the advancement of primary care delivery in Minnesota through practice-based research and provider-based quality improvement.

Vision

The COEPC will lead the nation in the following areas:

1. Primary-care based prevention and management of cancer, diabetes, and depression, with potential expansion to other chronic conditions
2. Best practices for using regional and national primary care practice-based research networks and associated tools to engage large numbers of community-based providers in research, while speeding the integration of findings into the community
3. Innovative designs for primary care systems that improve clinical care and support for people with chronic disease(s)

Process

The COEPC will emphasize the translation of research into primary care clinical practice. It will focus principally on phase 3 and 4 clinical trials, observational studies, surveys, and behavioral research in practice-based settings. It will also facilitate delivery of better tools to provide care to community clinicians. Although the center will integrate new findings of practice-based research into guideline development, meta analysis, and systematic reviews, the principal focus will be translation to community primary care practices through dissemination and implementation research, or what is sometimes called T3 translation.

COEPC will provide benefits beyond the creation of an important and unique research infrastructure. Research conducted in clinical settings speeds the uptake of innovations into practice, and quality improvement leads to the provision of better health care.