Collaborative Spine Research Foundation Begins Research Agenda Deliberations Today--More than 80 Stakeholder Recommendations Submitted to Date

ROSEMONT, Ill., July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Collaborative Spine Research Foundation (Collaborative Spine) Research Agenda Advisory Council today is beginning the first phase of deliberation in the process of setting the Foundation's research agenda. As council members convene to consider more than 80 research recommendations submitted to date, Collaborative Spine continues to collaborate with stakeholders, gathering input from individuals and organizations interested in better spine care through clinical research.

"Collaborative Spine encourages all stakeholders to go on record with what they believe are the most pressing research issues," said Board of Directors Member Paul McCormick, MD, MPH, FAANS. "All recommendations offered—by those who provide care, receive care, assist care givers or play a role in shaping access to care—will be considered on an equal basis."

Interested parties are asked to review a backgrounder (http://www.aans.org/CSRFAdvisoryCouncilOverview.PDF) and then submit one or more research recommendations through an online questionnaire (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CSRF_Questionnaire). The questionnaire will be accessible through August 15, 2012.

All recommendations received will first be weighed by the Foundation's Research Agenda Advisory Council—comprised of representatives from clinical and academic medicine; clinical spine research; and industry, including medical technology, health services and insurance organizations. Using identical criteria, the Collaborative Spine board of directors will perform a second assessment and hear Advisory Council recommendations before finalizing the research agenda. The organization's top ten clinical research priorities for spine care will be published in early fall 2012.

The Collaborative Spine Research Foundation was co-founded in December 2011 by the American Association of Neurosurgeons/Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) and Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF). The Collaborative Spine board of directors consists of equal numbers of orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, as well as a physician from a third medical specialty, currently anesthesiology. The Foundation's application for 501(c) (3) status is pending. For more information about the co-founding organizations, please visit www.aans.org/en/NREF.aspx and www.oref.org.

SOURCE Collaborative Spine Research Foundation