August 2018 Notable Media Mentions

We regularly share highlights from news coverage of our work, including the growing collection of results from our funded studies. Here are some recent examples:

This Drug Is Safe and Effective. Wait. Compared with What?
The New York Times, August 20, 2018 An article in the New York Times' Upshot blog highlights PCORI's support for research comparing new therapies to existing ones, and investigating the relative benefits and harms for different types of patients.

This Upshot blog post notes that despite the many billions of dollars spent each year on drug research, almost none of that funding supports studies comparing new therapies to existing ones or investigating the relative benefits and harms for different types of patients.

It cites PCORI as one of two primary funders of comparative effectiveness trials in the United States that answer these important questions. “It’s essential that we learn to ask and answer practical questions about the comparative clinical effectiveness of therapy options in the course of everyday care,” PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH, says in the blog.

Additional coverage appeared in The Incidental Economist, Post News Report, Entorno Inteligente, and WRAL.

UK Center for Health Services Research Participating in Study to Improve the Patient Experience
WUKY, August 22, 2018

WUKY, a public radio station in Lexington, Kentucky, interviewed Jess Clouser, MPH, manager for Project ACHIEVE, a PCORI-funded University of Kentucky project. Clouser explains the aim of the project is to determine what patients and their caregivers want most when facing a transition from a hospital to their home. Preliminary findings show that patients and their caregivers want to feel prepared and capable of applying care plans, to have unambiguous accountability from the healthcare system, and to feel cared for and cared about by medical providers.

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Awards $85M for studies
Modern Healthcare, August 21, 2018

This article reviews PCORI's newest projects awarded at the August 21 Board meeting. It notes that PCORI’s studies “typically compare different treatment options for a condition to determine which is best. The studies are also used by providers, insurers, employers, and policymakers.”

Stay tuned for more highlights of our work.