APA's Office of Research is seeking psychiatrists who are interested in becoming volunteer members of its Practice Research Network (PRN).

Volunteers must be APA members who spend a minimum of 15 hours a week providing face-to-face patient care and anticipate being able to make a three-year commitment to the PRN.

The PRN was established by APA in 1993 to generate psychiatric research relevant to day-to-day clinical decision making and to gather data to inform critical policy issues. It consists of a nationwide network of psychiatrists who cooperate to collect data and conduct research studies. These studies examine a variety of clinical and health services delivery issues, including the patterns and outcomes of psychiatric treatment in the United States.

Although a number of studies are undertaken each year, data collection occurs only during designated time periods, with each study requiring no more than a few hours to complete.

By the end of this year, the PRN hopes to have the capacity to collect data on approximately 48,000 Americans receiving psychiatric care. This capability is particularly important for gathering information regarding groups who are commonly excluded from traditional clinical trials, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with comorbid conditions.

Network procedures are designed to protect the confidentiality of both patients and psychiatrists. The PRN staff adheres to federal regulations regarding data security for medical research studies. Network studies are observational and should not affect the physician-patient relationship. All study protocols are approved by the APA Institutional Review Board and by local review boards when necessary.

This winter the PRN will undertake a study on psychiatric patients and treatments. This study will provide the only available detailed, patient-level national data on the diagnostic characteristics of psychiatric patients as well as the specific treatments and combinations of treatments they receive in routine clinical practice. Plans are also under way for a study on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

APA members who would like more information or wish to join the PRN are asked to call (800) 713-7123 or send e-mail to apaprn@psych.org.

(Psychiatric News, November 1, 1996)