CROWN initiative and preterm birth prevention: Researchers and editors commit to implement core outcome sets.

The emphasis on research quality has taken great strides in recent years. Publication of clinical trial protocols (i.e. SPIRIT guideline), prospective registration (e.g. ClinicalTrials. gov, WHO registry), high standards in research conduct (i.e. ICH-Good Clinical Practice guidelines) and transparent reporting of the findings (i.e. CONSORT guideline) are all becoming features of clinical effectiveness research. However, many more gains are possible to improve the efficiency of clinical research and therefore reduction of waste in health research, a problem that is estimated to consume 85% of the global medical research budget each year. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.