1. Washington Post: Scientists Embark on Unprecedented Effort to Connect Millions of Patient Medical Records; Big Data Project, click here to view the article.
2. PCORI Blog: Building PCORnet as a Secure Platform for Outcomes Research, click here to view the blog post.
3. Bloomberg: Louis Jacques, Chief Clinical Officer at ADVI, Past Director of the CMS Coverage and Analysis Group, click here to view the full article (subscription required).
4. EHR Intelligence: How Are Federal Policies Changing Reimbursement Strategies?, click here to view the article.
Ariana Eunjung Cha of the Washington Post reported last week about the efforts to create a comprehensive patient database. “Large, randomized clinical trials such as the ones NIH does for important questions cost upwards of $150 million, meaning that PCORI has enough to fund only two or three a year. ‘So about a year ago, PCORI started talking about whether there is another model that is different from the NIH model, which would be more about embedding clinical studies in the fabric of day-to-day care,’ said Robert W. Dubois, chief science officer for the National Pharmaceutical Council...The PCORI network, which is being built at a cost of nearly $100 million, would also be a way to pinpoint patients with certain criteria who could be invited to join a clinical trial.” Click here to view the full article.
2. PCORI Blog: Building PCORnet as a Secure Platform for Outcomes Research
In response to the Washington Post article on PCORInet, PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby provided an update in a post on the PCORI Blog. Dr. Selby explained, “By integrating 18 Patient-Powered Research Networks and 11 health system–based Clinical Data Research Networks, [PCORnet] will facilitate the use of both patient-provided information and clinically derived data to support research. By folding research activities into clinical practice without interrupting the flow of care, PCORnet aims to facilitate comparative clinical effectiveness research and other kinds of studies on topics and questions most relevant to the needs of patients and those who care for them. The result will be a system that will enable researchers to ask clinical questions and derive results quickly and efficiently[…] As we develop overall governance policies for PCORnet and create the structures, methods, and means that will allow networks to operate together, we’ll provide specific information on how research teams can access the data and how queries will be handled, prioritized, and answered[…] During the 18-month development phase, which ends September 2015, we will work continuously to improve the quality of the data and the efficiency of the PCORnet’s capacity to support research.” Click here to view the blog post.
3. Bloomberg: Louis Jacques, Chief Clinical Officer at ADVI, Past Director of the CMS Coverage and Analysis Group
In a question and answer session with Bloomberg, Louis Jacques of ADVI, a reimbursement and health policy advisory service, was asked about comparative effectiveness research and PCORI. “Bloomberg: Will comparative effectiveness data generated under the Affordable Care Act and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute someday inform the [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid] coverage with evidence with development decisions? Jacques: While I think that could help close outstanding evidence gaps and lead to more efficient use of research resources and earlier access to coverage and payment, I expect that there would be some discussion before that would become routine.” Click here to view the full article (subscription required).
4. EHR Intelligence: How Are Federal Policies Changing Reimbursement Strategies?
Kyle Murphy of EHR Intelligence penned an article regarding the state of electronic health records with regard to evidence based treatment strategies. In it he said, “A focus on the needs and wants of patients has emerged as a significant differentiator among healthcare providers[...] ‘Those that are getting it are making investments in those areas as well as trying to understand how well they are following evidence-based medicine across the organization,’ [John Dugan, CPA] maintains. ‘Having those standardized levels of care that are supported by data analytics for them to understand what the outliers are in the cost to treat, that's where you're seeing savings driven out of the system.’” Click here to view the article.