Vision
A U.S. health system that delivers great patient care at an affordable cost.
Mission
Discover, design, and disseminate innovations that reduce the cost of great care for conditions consuming the bulk of U.S. health care spending.
Our Strategic Focus
For more than half a century, growth in U.S. health care spending has surpassed annual GDP growth. The United States spends nearly twice as much as other high-income countries on health care, despite poorer health outcomes and more limited access to services. To address the cost and quality issues underlying these performance gaps, Dr. Arnold Milstein founded Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center in 2011.
CERC is the first university-based center in the United States whose research and education programs are exclusively dedicated to rapidly advancing cost-saving innovations across engineering, medicine, and management. Our goal is to replace expensive, risky, and often debilitating treatments with value-based care delivered efficiently, safely, and cost-effectively.
Stanford Medicine Impact Campaign Video
"The country’s prosperity hinges on continuously attaining better health with less health spending. By mobilizing emerging science and technology from across engineering, management, and medicine, the Clinical Excellence Research Center enables Stanford to help solve a seemingly intractable national challenge."
Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH
Founder and Director
Clinical Excellence Research Center
The Value We Deliver
The pursuit of numerous cost-saving innovations
Rather than emphasizing only one approach to higher value care, we pursue multiple innovation pathways – from artificial intelligence applications to the analysis of proven care models – while continually addressing the barriers to their adoption.
A singular focus on reducing the cost of great care
No other university of Stanford’s global standing operates teams of diversely trained scholars with a laser focus on reducing the cost of great patient care.
World-class interdisciplinary research teams
We harness the expertise of visionary Stanford faculty and aspiring innovators from diverse backgrounds, including medicine, social, behavioral and management sciences, systems engineering, and artificial intelligence.
Robust industry and research partnerships
To achieve the greatest impact, our work relies on and benefits from collaborations with leaders in health care, science, and technology, as well as from philanthropic support.
CERC Development Brochure