VA grant supports multisite precision medicine collaboration

A $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will go toward four projects using existing VA electronic health data to apply precision monitoring to transform care.

The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine will collaborate on the five-year, multi-site Precision Monitoring (PRIS-M) program, according to an announcement.

Projects will take place in various settings, including emergency departments, and inpatient and outpatient units, and will focus on diverse medical conditions. In addition to studying the technical aspects of precision monitoring, they will focus on how the monitoring can produce insights useful to providers and teams to make improvements without producing information overload.

The four projects are:

  1. Nationwide implementation of electronic quality indicators for inpatient stroke care
  2. Use of patient-specific data and telehealth technology to improve care for veterans with transient ischemic attack
  3. Remote monitoring of continuous positive airway pressure for patients with sleep apnea
  4. Reduction of inappropriate carotid artery imaging orders

Regenstrief and Indiana University earlier this year announced a new approach to clinical decision support (CDS) that allows physicians and others to craft their own CDS rules based on their personal experiences with patients.

The two organizations also recently published research showing that the combination of two drugs can significantly lower patients' blood pressure.

To learn more:
- read the announcement