In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. PIPC Comments on LAN's Updated APM Framework, click here to read the letter.
2. PIPC Patient Blog: Andrew Sperling, National Alliance on Mental Illness, click here to read the blog.
3. Oncology Leaders to Convene in D.C. for Turning the Tide Against Cancer 2017 National Conference, click here to register.
4. Ipsen: PIPC Participates in Dialogue for Patient Care, click here to view the report.
5. Lupus: Patient-Focused Drug Development Meeting, c
lick here to register!
6. Morning Consult: Reform Prescription Drug Labeling to Benefit Patients and Their Doctors, click here to read he op-ed.
7. Drug Topics: The Future of Oncology Treatment Is Value Assessment, click here to read the article. 
8. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability Click here to apply. 
9. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below
10. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
11. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. PIPC Patient Blog: Andrew Sperling, National Alliance on Mental Illness, click hereto read the blog.
2. Chairman Coelho: Patient Engagement: The CHRONIC Care Act, CMMI, and the Future, click here to read the blog.
3. PIPC Outlines Concerns with ISPOR's Value Assessment Frameworks Initiative,click here to read the letter.
4. Healthcare Finance: Racial and ethnic disparities remain consistent at Veterans Health Administration patient-centered medical homes, click here to read the article.
5. AMJC Video: Dr. L. Patrick James Discusses the Continued Move Toward Value-Based Payments, click here to watch the video.
6. PhRMA: Modernizing FDA Regulations to Advance a Value-Driven Health Care System, click here to read the article. 
7. Modern Healthcare: House Lawmakers Ask How Medicare Can Manage Complex Patients Better, click here to read the article.   
8. Hepatitis C Mentor and Support Group Releases Psychological Survey Results,click here to read the report.
9. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability Click here to apply. 
10. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below
11. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
12. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

​NAMI is proud to be part of the movement to assess value of health care treatments and interventions, and to build an infrastructure for patient engagement throughout the healthcare system, particularly in the shift to value-based payment and delivery models. However, we think it’s crucial that any efforts to measure and assess value, incorporate the patient perspective, and consistently and meaningfully engage patients along the way.

PIPC Chairman Tony Coelho recently penned a blog for HuffPost, complimenting steps that are being taken that show progress in shifting toward value-based healthcare decisions. “While a tremendous amount of work remains to be done, policymakers took two steps recently that show progress is possible. One was approval by the Senate Finance Committee of the CHRONIC Care Act, a bipartisan bill (yes, they still exist!) whose success is attributable to significant stakeholder engagement and that, if enacted, will help to meet real patient needs.”

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Chairman Coelho: Patient Engagement: The CHRONIC Care Act, CMMI, and the Future, click here to read the blog.
2. PIPC Outlines Concerns with ISPOR's Value Assessment Frameworks Initiative, click here to read the letter.
3. Apply now! CMS Seeking Nominations for Quality Measurement Development TEP, click here to apply.
4. AMJC Video: Why Focus on Value Will Persist Regardless of Changing Legislation, click here to watch the video.
5. Hogan Lovells -- Measures of Success: How Value-Based Pricing May Change the Pharmaceutical Industry,  click here to read the article.
6. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability Click here to apply. 
7. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below
8. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
9. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. PIPC Chairman Coelho Outlines Concerns with ISPOR’s Value Assessment Frameworks Initiative, click here to read the letter.
2. Vox: Trump wants to cut health research. This Republican won’t let him, click here to read the article.
3. Health Affairs: Measuring Value Based On What Matters To Patients: A New Value Assessment Framework, click here to read the blog.
4. AMJC Video: Tailored Approach to Value Assessment Is Necessary, click here to watch the video.
5. PharmTech: Value-Based Pricing Viewed as Most Potentially Transformative Factor Facing the Industry, click here to read the article.
6. Clinical Leader: Patient Centricity In Clinical Trials: Lessons Learned From Big Pharma, click here to read the article.
7. Article: Patient-Centered Digital Education Improves Adherence Rates, Survival for Patients with Lung Cancer, click here to read the article.
8. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability Click here to apply. 
9. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below
10. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
11. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Washington Post: She Thought She’d Pulled Hip Muscles, But Six Doctors Couldn’t Diagnose Her Pain, Click here to read the article.
2. Health Affairs: A Consumer-Centered Framework For Quality: How Do We Get There From Here? Click here to read the blog. 
3. PCORnetJoins Forces with Sentinel to Link Data for More Robust Public Health Research, Click here to read the press release. 
4. BioPharma DIVE: Can Value-Based Deals Work If Patients Don't Take the Drug? Click here to read the article.
5. Morning Consult: Senate Panel Approves Bill Revamping Medicare for Chronically Ill Patients. Click here to read the article. 
6. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability, Click here to apply. 
7. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below
8. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
9. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Avalere and FasterCures Release Patient-Perspective Value Framework to Incorporate Patient Preferences into Healthcare Treatment Decisions, click here to read the press release.
2. PCORI to Offer Up to $41 Million for New Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research on Opioids, Advanced Illnesses, click here to read the press release.
3. AMJC: Finding Value of Life-Saving Therapies Can Reveal What Matters to Patients, click here to read the article.
4. Health Affairs: The Case For Patient-Centered Assessment Of Value, click here to read the article.
5. New York Times: New Veterans Affairs Chief: A Hands-On, Risk-Taking ‘Standout’, click here to read the article.
6. The Upshot: We’re Bad at Death. Can We Talk? Click here to read the blog.
7. NPC: How Can We Address Barriers to Accessing Needed Care? Click here to read the article.
8. Healthcare Informatics: Former Minnesota CIO to Head AHRQ, click here to read the article.
9. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability, click here to apply.
10. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
11. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
12. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Chairman’s Corner: Examining Episode Payment Models, click here to read the blog.
2. PIPC Patient Blog: United Cerebral Palsy Discusses the Benefits of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, click here to read the blog.
3. CMS Seeking Nominations for Technical Expert Panel (TEP), click here to apply.
4. CMS/CMMI: Oncology Care Model Stakeholder Feedback Opportunity, click here for details.
5. Fierce Health: Insurers Use Data to Drive Value-Based Contracts, Identify Gaps in Care, click here to read the article.
6. Pharmaceutical Executive -- Patient-Centric Care: It's Not Just About the Medication Anymore, click here to read the article.
7. ASCO Post: Can You Hear Me Now? Listening to the Cancer Patient, click here to read the article.
8. PCORI Blog -- Progress and Promise: Celebrating PCORI's PCORnet Initiative, click here to read the blog.
9. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability, click here to apply.
10. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
11. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
12. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

​​On April 19, 2017, I provided comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) on behalf of the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) related to some new, recently proposed episode payment models.  I applauded the agency for making a deliberate and conscious effort to solicit authentic patient feedback about their proposed new payment models. Although I’ve been critical in the past, I told them that I appreciated their seizing of this opportunity to forge a new path forward on engaging stakeholders, particularly patients, in the development, implementation and evaluation of alternative payment models.

​What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word, “research?” Maybe you think of book reports and term papers, or maybe your mind goes to Hollywood depictions of people in white coats running testing laboratories. Perhaps, you think of something else entirely. 

Whatever your association with the word, research means many different things to many different people. It can sometimes be difficult to encourage people to engage as active participants in healthcare research, particularly if their associations with the concepts are less than positive.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. PIPC Patient Blog: Abigail Lore, click here to view the blog post.
2. PCORI Blog: PCORI Projects Put Findings into Action, Click here to view the blog post.
3.  Moving AHRQ Into The NIH: New Beginning Or Beginning Of The End? Click here to view the article.
4. Video: Susan A. Cantrell on the Evolution of Value Frameworks, Click here to watch the video
5. 5 Thoughts on Why Value Based Care Will Survive Partisanship Over Healthcare, Click here to view the article.
6. Can Value-Based Purchasing Work with Pharmaceutical Companies? Click here to view the article.
7. FDA’s Califf to Head New Clinical Research Foundation, see details below.
8. Guidelines for Designing Patient-Centered Research Initiatives, Click here to view the article.
9. CMS: Commenting Open on Pediatric Alternative Payment Model Opportunities, Click here to view the announcement.
10. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability, Click here to apply.
11. NYT: Informed Patient? Don’t Bet on It, Click here to view the article.
12. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
13. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
14. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. PIPC Patient Blog: Abigail Lore, click here to view the blog post.
2. FDA Mulls Establishing Patient Affairs Office to Support Drug Development, see details below.
3. FDA’s Califf to Head New Clinical Research Foundation, see details below.
4. Guidelines for Designing Patient-Centered Research Initiatives, Click here to view the article.
5. CMS: Commenting Open on Pediatric Alternative Payment Model Opportunities, Click here to view the announcement.
6. Epilepsy Foundation: 2017-2018 AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability, Click here to apply.
7. NYT: Informed Patient? Don’t Bet on It, Click here to view the article.
8. PCORI Blog: How Advisory Panels Contribute to PCORI's Research Agenda, Click here to view the blog post.
9. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
10. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
11. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.