PCORI Board Approves Projects to Show How Health Plans and Systems Can Work with PCORnet to Advance Patient-Centered Research

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors today approved nearly $9 million for two projects designed to show how health plans can partner with PCORnet’s Clinical Data Research Networks (CDRNs) to capture health plan data, especially from claims and membership records, to support the network’s goal of speeding research that can help patients and those who care for them make better-informed healthcare decisions.

The Board also approved $4 million for four projects designed to show how CDRNs can conduct collaborative research with health systems leaders across the network.

The projects are the latest designed to demonstrate the capabilities of PCORnet, PCORI’s initiative to improve the nation’s capacity to conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) efficiently by creating a large, highly representative network for conducting clinical outcomes research that directly involves patients and other stakeholders.

CDRNs, one of the two types of networks that comprise PCORnet, are made up of many different types of health systems, including hospitals and clinics, that are partnering to conduct research. Each is building capacity for conducting patient-centered studies using data from their practices and patient populations.

Details of the health plan projects are available here, and information on the health systems projects can be found here.

"These projects will advance the scope of research PCORI is doing to address the needs of all our stakeholders, including health plans and health systems, as well as patients," said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. "With these demonstration projects, we’re supporting improved decision-making and learning by health systems, care providers, patients and families."

With these latest awards, PCORI’s Board has approved nearly $1.4 billion since 2012 to fund 514 patient-centered CER studies and other projects to enhance the methods and infrastructure to support CER. All awards were approved by the Board pending completion of a business programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract.

About PCORnet
PCORnet, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, is an innovative initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The goal of PCORnet is to improve the nation’s capacity to conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research efficiently by creating a large, highly representative network for conducting clinical outcomes research that directly involves patients in the development and execution of the research. More information is available at www.pcornet.org.