There is a lack of quantitative and qualitative clinical research data supporting osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and its health benefits. This has become a serious issue for the profession in the era of evidence-based medicine and managed care. Moreover, there is a lack of a knowledge base in conducting clinical research among the rank and file memebers of the osteopathic profession and there have been a few coordinated research efforts. The Osteopathic Collaborative Clinical Trials Initiative Conference will directly address these issues. Specifically, the conference will: (1) Disseminate information regarding current research efforts at osteopathic institutions, (2) Facilitate the coordination of research effort among osteopathic institutions, (3) Facilitate the standardization of nomenclature and research protocols, (4) Facilitate the development of a national electronic clinical outcomes database, and (5) Plan for the integration of the clinical database into postgraduate clinical training programs. The conference format combines plenary sessions and small group meetings. Representatives of the American Osteopathic Association, the American Academy of Osteopathy, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and each of the 19 colleges of osteopathic medicine are expected to attend. The editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, the NIH- NCCAM Program Officer, and the Director of the AHCPR Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research will be invited. A keynote speaker is being recruited to give an address on conducting clinical research. Plenary sessions will be videotaped for distribution to all participants. A document of the proceedings will also be published and distributed to participants and the individual colleges of osteopathic medicine. Dissemination will target 40,000 individual practitioners, faculty and students at all 19 colleges of osteopathic medicine as well as all osteopathic internship and residency programs.
