WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) Board of Governors today approved nearly $74 million to fund seven studies comparing the effectiveness of different strategies for delivering palliative care. These projects will focus on advanced care planning for patients with serious illnesses and examine which approaches to delivering palliative care to patients in the community work best to improve quality of care and quality of life.
Adults with advanced illnesses, as well as their caregivers, experience a high burden of physical and psychosocial symptoms. Patients who receive palliative care services that address these symptoms report significant improvements in their quality of life as well as fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits. However, access to palliative care services is often limited to inpatient hospitals and hospice settings, and many patients and their caregivers report unmet needs for these services in their communities.
"This research will address an essential health care need: the effective and efficient delivery of palliative care," said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. "With our aging population, there is an increased demand for these services and an urgent need to understand the best ways to provide them. The comparative clinical effectiveness research, or CER, that PCORI was established to fund will fill critical gaps in our knowledge and ultimately help people make better informed decisions about palliative care that fit their needs and preferences."
The seven awards approved today are:
In addition to these awards, the Board approved another $35.7 million to support 15 studies focusing on other conditions and problems that impose high burdens on patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system, as well as $10 million for two studies of strategies to prevent unsafe opioid prescribing. The Board also approved the selection or reappointment of 33 people to serve on PCORI's seven multi-stakeholder advisory panels .
With these latest awards, PCORI's Board has approved $1.7 billion in funding since 2012 for 600 patient-centered CER studies and related projects to enhance the methods and infrastructure needed to support rigorous, efficient CER. All awards are approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff, as well as a completion of a formal award contract.
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About PCORI
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.