PCORI Amends its Research Agenda

The board of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has voted to amend PCORI's draft research agenda in response to 15 major themes that emerged from more than 450 public comments on its proposed agenda, released in February. NBCH was among the organizations providing comments. The board did not recommend any changes in the quasi-governmental agency's National Priorities for Research, saying the public comments did not identify significant gaps in the five proposed priorities. PCORI plans to incorporate the revisions and vote on the final agenda and national priorities next month. The board also approved $30 million in funding over two years for a slate of 50 pilot projects that will address a broad range of questions about methods for engaging patients in various aspects of the research and dissemination process. Once the research agenda is finalized, PCORI plans to distribute $120 million of research funding by the end of the year.  According to the statute that establishes PCORI, about half of its funding comes from $2-per-covered-life assessments on employers, both insured and self-insured.