if providing best care means being at the cutting edge of research, should it be implemented system-wide?; comment on “‘we’re not providing the best care if we are not on the cutting edge of research’: a research impact evaluation at a regional australian hospital and health service”

The covid-19 pandemic intensified debates about the desirability of integrating health research systems into healthcare systems. an excellent evaluation undertaken prior to the pandemic examined a purposeful strategy to improve healthcare through an expansion in research capacity in the townsville hospital and health service (thhs), a regional service in northern queensland. this comment puts that evaluation into a rapidly developing wider context, drawing on other work showing an association between research engagement in healthcare organisations and their improved healthcare. in most previous studies this impact arose as a by-product of the research activity. the townsville scheme went further. but while the evaluation identified some progress and impacts, they were patchy, not system-wide. recent pre-pandemic studies showed that going even further and integrating a health research system across a national healthcare system markedly improved healthcare, despite continuing challenges. the uk’s research experiences during covid-19 are giving additional momentum to this approach globally.