Tony Coelho: "Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced new goals intended to move the Medicare program further toward value-driven health care. In addition, Secretary Burwell unveiled a newly launched Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network to support those goals. The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) shares the Secretary’s goal of achieving a more efficient, high-quality and patient-centered health care system. 

In This Week’s Issue:
1. PIPC: View the Patient Empowerment Webinar! Click here.
2. Inside Health Policy: Stakeholders Expect Obama's Precision Medicine Effort To Complement Cures Initiative, click here to view the full article (subscription required).
3. NYT: Obama to Request Research Funding for Treatments Tailored to Patients’ DNA, click here to view.
4. The Hill: America's Healthcare Costs Could Hinge on Congressional Strategy Sessions, click here to view the full article.
5. The Hill: PCORI’s promise to patients, click here to view the article.
6. US News: How Sharing Your Health Data Can Help Others, click here to view the full article.
7. Families USA: PCORI-Funded Research Addresses Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity, click here to view the full blog. 8. Video: Amy Berman, RN, Discusses the Importance of Patient-Centered Care in Oncology, click here to view the video.
9. WaPo: Informed Consent: U.S. Considers New Rules for Taking Part in Medical Research, click here to view the full article.
10. PCORI Updates: PCORNET and Pragmatic Trials, click here and here and here for more details.
11. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
12. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

1. TODAY at 2pm EST: PIPC’s Patient Empowerment Webinar, click here to view the webinar.  
2. PCORI Seeking Nominations to Advisory Panels by February 6, click here to view the announcement.
3. Huffington Post: Top 10 Medical Research Issues and Trends to Watch in 2015, click here to view the article.
4. AcademyHealth: "Evidence Roadmaps" Launched in Response to Medicare Listening Report, click here to view the article. 
5. NEJM: Addressing the Challenge of Gray-Zone Medicine, Ethically Influencing Referrals in ACOs, see details below.
6. Kaiser Permanente: International Efforts to Improve Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, click here to view the article.
7. PCORI in the News, see details below. 
8. PCORI Blog Posts: Review Panels, Obesity, Elderly Falls, see details below.
9. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
10. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

In This Week’s Issue:
1. Save the Date: PIPC’s Patient Empowerment Webinar, additional details will be available on the PIPC website soon! Kindly RSVP to [email protected]
2. PCORI Seeking Nominations to Advisory Panels, click here to view the announcement.
3. Health Affairs: Implementing Value-Based Payment In Practice, click here to view the full article.
4. Forbes: How Can We Encourage Participation in Clinical Trials? Click here to view the full article.
5. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
6. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.

In This Week’s Issue:
1. Save the Date: PIPC’s Patient Empowerment Webinar on January 20, RSVP to [email protected]<script cf-hash='f9e31' type="text/javascript"> /* */</script>.   
2. PIPC Comments on PCORI Dissemination and Implementation Action Plan, click here to view.   
3. Journal Summarizes Lessons of Early Comparative Effectiveness Research, click here to view the paper 
4. PCORI Offers Up to $150.7 Million to Support Second Phase of Development of PCORnet, click here to view the press release. 
5. Forbes: Big Data Smoothes Out The Business Of Government, click here to view the full article.
6. ProHealth: 10 Important Advances in ME/CFS, click here to view the article.
7. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation: Real World Data – The Challenge That Can't Be Refused, click here to view the article.
8. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
9. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.