Started in 1972, the Dartmouth COOP Project is one of the oldest primary care research networks in the United States. Its original goals were to provide professional stimulation and collegial interaction among physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, to conduct cooperative research in primary care, improve the primary care services, to improve office management technique, and to sponsor continuing education. The Project has published more than 40 articles and book chapters, spanning pediatrics to geriatrics, and its work in evaluation of patient outcomes.
The Dartmouth Primary Cooperative Research Network is a voluntary, cooperative network of independent clinicians. The COOP collaborates with academic researchers to improve the outcomes focus of care and develop products that work in busy community-practice settings.
Recently, the Dartmouth COOP Project developed and tested a replicable model for improving care practices. This model contains, at its core, simple, easily administered, self-scoring measures for screening, assessing and monitoring patient function called the Dartmouth COOP Charts. The COOP Charts, along with age and gender-specific questions, are used to predict utilization and assess the full range of patient needs and the degree to which these needs will be addressed by the health care system.
A major advantage of the approach provided by the COOP Charts model is that it serves the practice by facilitating patient care and "front line" improvement. A controlled trial of this model has been expanded to teenage, dialysis, adult, and Spanish-speaking populations. The Charts, endorsed by the World Organization of General Practitioners/Family Physicians, are available in 20 languages.
