[Quality assessment of medical-scientific research: in the future it should also be assessed on the basis of social impact]

Clinical research is the basis for the improvement of clinical care, yet assessments of the quality of research output in terms of the consequences for patient care are seldom acknowledged. However, contributions to guidelines, educational programmes and other products for clinicians indicate the clinical relevance of research and researchers. A recent report from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science (Dutch acronym: KNAW) proposes a method to measure these aspects in addition to the scientific value of the output from research programmes. The transfer of research findings into clinical practice requires an implementation process. Measurements of the societal impact of research may lead to a better understanding of this process