From Research to Practice: Which Research Strategy Contributes More to Clinical Excellence? Comparing High-Volume versus High-Quality Biomedical Research

We collected secondary data on departments across three specializations (Cardiology, Oncology and Orthopedics) in 50 U.S.-based university hospitals served by 4,330 physicians. Data on volume and quality of biomedical research at each department was correlated with publicly available ratings of departments’ quality of care, demonstrating that high-quality research has significantly greater contribution to quality of care than high-volume research.