Desert Medical Group/Oasis IPA Announces Expansion of Research Center

Larger Role in FDA-based Clinical Research is Planned

Palm Springs, CA. Citing the clinical research industry's patient recruitment challenges and need for a link with primary care physicians, Desert Medical Group/Oasis IPA (DMG/OIPA), located in Palm Springs, California, has announced the expansion of its research center into the Phase II-IV research market.

DMG/OIPA, serving the medical needs of the community for more than 20 years, is a primary care-based physician lead organization that manages the healthcare of over 100,000 patients. The model includes more than 200 primary care and specialty physicians. DMG/OIPA has established a dedicated, multi-therapeutic, trained and experienced research team. Marc Hoffing, MD, MPH, COO and Medical Director of DMG/OIPA, notes, "Through research we feel we can provide our patients more choices while helping study and bring forth new medical innovations."

Building on its success conducting outcomes and health improvement studies (mostly in conjunction with academic medical centers), DMG/OIPA has established a strong foundation to conduct highly regulated FDA-based clinical research for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, as well as contract research organizations (CROs). The center now has the infrastructure, resources and experience to conduct FDA-based clinical trials in various therapeutic areas and partners with Altura, an organization that provides clinical research services to medical groups, managed care organizations, research centers and study sponsors (www.altura2000.com).

Says Pete Fronte, President of Altura, "Desert Medical Group/Oasis IPAís leadership has made an investment and commitment to build an attractive study site that incorporates not only trained investigators and study coordinators, but also effectively links primary care physicians to clinical research. This is an excellent model for enhancing patient recruitment and retention while ensuring patient safety and continuity of care."

DMG/OIPAís Clinical Research Center maintains various facilities throughout the desert area of Palm Springs. In well-equipped, modern facilities, the research staff conducts drug and disease management research for its pharmaceutical, biotech and medical-device clients.

According Dr. Hoffing, "We are currently conducting Phase II-IV clinical trials, as well as outcome studies and database analysis with a team of investigators experienced in both academic research and clinical trials. Given the development of our research structure, we are now ready to take on more studies."

Onsite research center facilities include dedicated administrative and clinical research offices, in-house IT staff and Internet access, secure medical records and drug storage, multiple examination rooms, equipment for processing specimens for transport to a central laboratory, and research facilities/equipment for specific studies. The centralized research center handles regulatory processing, adverse event reporting, patient recruitment, the qualification and training of investigators and clinical research coordinators, as well as quality assurance and all contractual and budgetary functions. Investigators are also able to access a full range of medical services and equipment at medical offices throughout the desert region, including urgent care centers, outpatient clinics, in-house pharmacies, laboratory processing centers and radiology departments (with CT scanners, ultrasound, X-ray and DEXA scanning).

Thomas Goodro, Director of Clinical Research, notes, "Our research investigators are interested in conducting more studies in the following therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, endocrinology, gastrointestinal, anti-infectives, pediatrics, internal medicine and family practice, rheumatology, musculoskeletal, pain management, psychiatry, immediate and urgent care conditions, allergy and asthma, pulmonology, dermatology, and podiatry. Additionally, our proven systems allow us to collect clean, comprehensive data while meeting applicable regulatory requirements and complying with guidelines such as Good Clinical Practices."

Pharmaceutical companies and other research sponsors interested in working with a clinical research center within a large, highly acclaimed medical group should contact Tim O'Connor, PharmD at (913) 851-9210.

Desert Medical Group/Oasis IPA is a subsidiary of Heritage Inc. and maintains additional medical systems in Lancaster, CA and Bakersfield, CA.

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