March 31, 2008

The past six months have been a productive time for NORTHSTAR. At the beginning of this month, our Network Director and Board Chairman traveled to Oklahoma City to meet with the directors of the Oklahoma Physicians Resource / Research Network (OKPRN). OKPRN is one the oldest and most successful practice-based research networks in the United States.  The visit gave us great insight into some tools and practices to employ in order to make NORTHSTAR an equally successful PBRN.

NORTHSTAR is currently conducting a study on dilated retinal exam compliance rates for diabetic patients in North Dakota.  This is our first NORTHSTAR research study and we are very excited! More information concerning the project will soon be available under the "NORTHSTAR Studies" section of this site.

Finally, on April 4th and 5th, we will be attending the North Dakota Academy of Family Physicians meetings in Fargo.  NORTHSTAR is bringing in Dr. Robert Ferrer, MD, MPH, from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio to give a presentation on practice-based research.  His presentation titled "Improving Care for Unhealthy Behaviors in Primary Care Practice" will be held on Saturday, April 5th at the Ramada Plaza Suites and Conference Center (Crystal Ballroom III). We encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about practice-based research to attend!

October 17, 2007

Our Network Coordinator attended the NDMA conference last month to raise awareness of the network.  The feedback on the network has been very positive and several individuals have expressed interest in participating.

Our Network Director, Network Coordinator, and several members of the Board attended the North Dakota Healthcare Review, Inc. Quality Care Forum on October 9th. The Forum focused on the Redesigning of Systems within North Dakota Healthcare. The sessions gave us an interesting looking into current projects aimed towards patient-centered care within North Dakota.

Finally, we are currently accepting proposals for NORTHSTAR's first research project! We are accepting suggestions from all primary care physicians, members and non-members alike.  We currently have two project proposals in the works.  The descriptions of these proposals can be found under the NORTHSTAR Studies link.

September 17, 2007

NORTHSTAR will be at the North Dakota Medical Association meetings in Fargo on September 20th and 21st. The network will have an information booth set up for both days at the Fargo Holiday Inn. Interested parties can speak with our network coordinator, learn more about the network's progress, and how they can become a network member. We hope to see you there!

July 24, 2007

We are still in the early stages of creating the NORTHSTAR network. We are currently looking for any primary care practitioners interested in joining the network. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. Once we have established our network members and expand our board of directors, we will begin to move forward onto conducting research. This is an exciting time for NORTHSTAR! The future of the network is full of promising advances in the quality of care in the rural primary care setting.