Building a research program. Interview by Donald E.L. Johnson.

Faced with shrinking funds for medical research, hospitals have had to evaluate the role of research and reexamine how research programs are funded and structured. In the following interview with Health Care Strategic Management's Donald E.L. Johnson, Jan R. Jennings, president of Millard Fillmore Hospitals in Buffalo, N.Y., discusses how critical a research program is to a teaching hospital. The major benefits are improving the quality of care and creating a more dynamic and stimulating environment. But there are pitfalls, as well. Clinical research must be run with strict financial discipline and monitored from ethical and legal standpoints.