Palo Alto Researcher To Receive Under Secretary’s Award

Washington, D.C. — Rudolf H. Moos, Ph.D., a leader in research to improve the lives of people affected by substance abuse and psychiatric disorders, will receive VA’s first Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research. He will accept the award during the 17th annual meeting of the Health Services Research and Development (HSRD) Service February 25 in Washington.



Dr. Moos is director of the HSRD Center for Health Care Evaluation at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System. He has played a central role in developing one of VA’s leading centers for health services research. Investigators at the Palo Alto center have made important contributions in the areas of organization and delivery of health services, clinical decision making, psychiatric problems and substance abuse treatment, geriatric care, and health services methodology — the "basic science" of health services in which researchers develop assessment techniques that allow them to answer questions about issues of cost and quality of care.



Dr. Moos is internationally known for his research identifying risk factors associated with substance abuse and psychiatric disorders and developing scientific measurements to evaluate and assess cost-effectiveness of hospital and community-based treatment programs for these problems.



The Under Secretary’s Award was established to honor the highest level of achievement and recognize the importance of health services research in health care of veterans and the general population. It recognizes research that increases understanding of factors affecting veterans’ health, improves health care, inspires new investigators through training and mentorship, and enhances VA research through national leadership. The award is the latest among a number of honors earned by Dr. Moos, who also received one of the first MERIT Awards from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.