An extremely important step for bringing a patient back to good health is the ability of a doctor to determine the best plan of care. This is why Practice Pro took Outcomes management seriously and was the first web-based EMR to integrate an Outcomes tracking and reporting system. It is alsowhy Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) was authorized by Congress in 2010. In the five years, since PCORI has been established, the board has successfully raised millions of dollars that it continues to use wisely to increase research within the healthcare industry.
POCRI has brought together a wide selection of hospitals, clinics, and private practices within the North American healthcare industry to establish the National Patient Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet). Currently there are as many as 27 participants in POCRnet. However, recently approximately $142.5 million has been invested into expanding its research initiatives including Physical Therapy! Part of the plan to broaden research is to expand the network to a total of about 34 participants. This will give PCORI a wider set of data to use for research; specifically, the population set will be more diverse, and the number of possible conditions tostudy will increase.
In addition to performing its own research, POCRI supports researchers and institutions around the United States who aim to explore the same goals based on Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (POCR) and clinical effectiveness research (CER). In 2015 POCRI has funded research for countless projects with organizations including Duke University, the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, and the Epilepsy Foundation.
The studies PCORI funds aim to improve patient outcomes and clinical effectiveness. Clinical effectiveness research is not only helpful for doctors and practitioners who apply treatment plans but also for patients who have to decide on what measures to take for recovery. Why go through a major surgery when a few months of physical therapy can produce just as good results? These types of questions and decisions are are important to both the doctor and the patient. Although institutions are trying to change to an outcome-based system, until there is more evidence of progress it is important for the average person to understand that a vast amount of research is yet to be performed to better understand the differences between treatment plan outcomes. In order to get the best treatment by doctors, the first step for improvement is supporting institutions such as PCORI.
To learn more about PCORI and to support research on PORI and CER visit: http://www.pcori.org/about-us.