The Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization building a global system for clinical research, and ActivMed Practices & Research, a multi-specialty, free-standing research organization based in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, have announced a strategic alliance focused on enhancing quality and sustainability of clinical research sites.

ActivMed will participate in ACRES ongoing Site Accreditation and Standards Initiative (SASI) to improve performance of global research sites through shared standards, accreditation, training and support. ActivMed participation will start with membership in a phase III standards domain team involving personnel and professionalism criteria.

With access to nearly 1 million patients in the Northeast region and a full range of clinical research studies (phase I, II, III, IIIb and IV) performed on an inpatient and outpatient basis, ActivMed also will collaborate with ACRES in the testing of developed standards and processes for ACRES site accreditation work, including ACRES’ innovative “dynamic accreditation” approach. Other areas of shared interest include professional development programs for research staff that can be offered within local communities as well as on line and the development of education and training programs ongoing at reasonable costs.

Terry Stubbs, ActivMed founder, president and CEO, who has successfully conducted more than 735 clinical research studies during her 25 years in healthcare research, said, “The creation of a systems-based approach to promote high-performing clinical research sites and to properly reward the work they do is long overdue. The value proposition is clear—we believe this is a terrific opportunity for sites committed to quality, like ActivMed, to get involved and to have real impact.”

“We are delighted that a growing number of sites and site-organizations world-wide are aligning with the ACRES vision,” said Greg Koski, ACRES co-founder and CEO. “ActivMed is committed to quality in every dimension of its work in clinical research, and it now brings this commitment to this global collaboration.”