After receiving more than 800 grant applications, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) yesterday announced $30 million in funding awards for comparative-effectiveness research.
Fifty pilot projects "led by creative and innovative researchers" will focus on engaging patients in the health research and dissemination process, PCORI said. The agency selected the recipients, in part, for their innovative ways to address challenges of improving patient-centered care and decision-making.
"Their work will help us establish a foundation for patient-centered research that will give patients, caregivers and clinicians the information and tools they need every day," PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby said in a statement.
For instance, University of California, Los Angeles, won more than $300,000 to determine how providing transportation to appointments, conducting case management assessments or performing community outreach for low-income patients affects the delivery of medical care, according to the pilot project abstract.
The University of California, Davis, won almost $700,000 to enhance physicians' patient-centered counseling skills to reduce inappropriate or unnecessary care, while the Palo Alto (Calif.) Medical Foundation Research Institute collected roughly $675,000 to test interventions designed to improve patient-centered communication and make shared decision-making routine among providers. Last month, the research institute found that many patients surrender their authority to physicians because they fear being labeled "difficult." According to the study, 48 Bay Area patients said they held back from challenging their physicians or asking questions, worried that such actions would lead to inferior care or a damaged relationship.
The nonprofit organization, established under health reform, is responsible for funding and setting the agenda for comparative effectiveness research, which will impact future healthcare significantly by influencing medical practice and insurance coverage, FierceHealthIT previously reported.
For more:
- here's the PCORI announcement
- find more information at the PCORI website