The Clinical Academic Center of Braga (2CA-Braga) is a non-profit partnership between the University of Minho (through the Medical School and the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute [ICVS]), the Hospital of Braga (HB), and the CUF-Porto Hospital.
Founded in 2012 and based at the Hospital of Braga (HB), the 2CA-Braga's social purpose is the development of clinical research, within an environment of health care delivery and knowledge promotion and production, in order to enhance more effective clinical care, as well as the quality and efficiency of health care.
2CA-Braga vision is to create a paradigm shift in health care, reflected in the increased ability of health professionals to proactively engage patients in a more adjustable type of health care, as well as in the appropriate monitoring of a greater number of individuals. To this end, 2CA-Braga promotes clinical research projects, translational methodologies and clinical trials, hosting scientific activities in the domain of health sciences and offering services to the clinical and scientific community. 2CA-Braga actively engages in a culture of knowledge dissemination among the scientific community, health professionals and the general public, seeking to ensure that advances in clinical research result in direct clinical benefits for the patients.
2CA-Braga offers its own fully-equipped infrastructure, where medical consultations, nursing assessment, collection of biological samples, application of patient reported outcomes (PRO), investigational medical product (IMP) dispensation, implementation of complementary diagnostic tests, among other clinical procedures, are offered in order to facilitate the clinical evaluation of the participants. In parallel, 2CA-Braga benefits from the support of Ancillary Services through the Medical School of the University of Minho (Biostatistics, Clinical Studies Design and Data Management) and the Hospital de Braga, E.P.E. (Clinical Pathology, Pathology, Imaging, Nuclear Medicine, Pharmaceutical Services, among others). This support network works closely with the researcher who provides knowledge, in the development and testing of the idea/theory, in the support to the analysis, data management and information technology. Physicians, on the other hand, are responsible for providing the practical knowledge about relevant clinical questions, study populations, feasible interventions, and the study design. Thus, through its integrated resources, 2CA-Braga provides a direct contribution to the population.