Interested in research with the Initiative DESAM-ForNet?

Basic information

In Germany´s general practices, far more patients are cared for, and medicines are prescribed than in any other area of the health care system. They provide primary care for people of all ages with physical and mental health disorders in emergency, acute and long-term care. The proportion of patients who are chronically ill or affected by several illnesses is increasing. There is a lack of scientifically based answers to a lot of questions in GP practices. GPs and patients need research that helps them to answer these relevant questions – and researchers need an infrastructure that enables research in GP practices.

The Initiative DESAM-ForNet – GP practice in focus

The Initiative of German Practice-Based Research Networks – DESAM-ForNet offers this infrastructure for high-quality research that follows the principle “from practice, for practice”. The GP practices with their perspectives and their interests in the care of their patients play a leading role. The research question for the actual improvement of everyday care should be developed from a topic relevant to daily practice.

Furthermore, adequate financial compensation should be verified for the research practices. This is the only way to ensure that GPs and their practice teams are convinced and actively carry the usually lengthy and work-intensive process of participating in a research project on top of their demanding daily care routine.

Cooperation with the Initiative DESAM-ForNet

Because we design the projects in the interest of our research practices, the Initiative DESAM-ForNet demands from external partners that research projects are already developed in the conception phase in cooperation with at least one general medical university department within a practice-based research network. Within this cooperation, the target parameters are defined, and the study design and statistical analysis plan are drawn up. Responsibilities and rights (objectives of the project, which person takes on which role, how are changes made in the research design, criteria/requirements of authorship, rights of use) are also clearly described and specified.

Before project start, a detailed financial plan with a comprehensible price-performance ratio must be disclosed. Data protection and security concepts of the project provide the scope for action. As a rule, the research data are always fully accessible to all authorized staff. Also agreements must be specified on the form of a result report.

Establishing general medicine university sites

The first step is to establish cooperation with at least one of the general medicine university departments within the Initiative DESAM-ForNet. For them, corresponding financial resources must be planned for conception and implementation of the research project.

For this purpose, the university representatives need a quick overview of whether your company and research field are interesting from a general medical perspective and if it is suitable for the GP practices of the respective university location.

This quick overview is provided by our Noticeboard.

To be listed there, it is assumed that you accept the criteria for the cooperation of the Initiative DESAM-ForNet (see above).

Your advantages:

  • Listing of your company / research field for 12 months on the Noticeboard.
  • The network coordinators of the Initiative DESAM-ForNet will be informed separately about your listing on the Noticeboard.
  • Via our newsletter, we inform all institutes of general medicine in Germany about our Noticeboard with your entry. Interested sites can then directly get in touch with you.
  • In addition, your Noticeboard entry allows you to present your company and your project plans to interested university sites in a digital pitch event twice a year and get instantly connected with university staff.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact koordinierung@desam-fornet.de.

Here you find the form for listing on the Noticeboard:

Noticeboard listing form

Conditions of participation

Note on data protection

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