The Dartmouth COOP is a voluntary (and cooperative) network of independent clinicians. For more than 15 years, the Dartmouth COOP has collaborated with academic researchers to improve the outcomes focus of care and develop products that work in busy practice settings. The Dartmouth COOP has published more than 40 articles describing this experience.
Limitations of time, personnel and "system" expertise undermine busy clinicians' efforts to examine and improve the care process. The Dartmouth COOP developed and proved the value of this approach to achieve the best health outcomes at the lowest cost.
The Dartmouth COOP Clinical Improvement Systems for adolescents, adult, geriatric and dialysis patients reaffirm the value of tailoring care based on comprehensive, patient-reported information. The systems generate health reports based on questionnaire responses, identify problems, provide education, and stimulate improvement. The summary data evaluates the process of care and compares the performance of physicians and medical care organizations. In this way the Dartmouth COOP Clinical Improvement Systems serve the needs of the patient, the "front line," and the "front office."