The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute is supposed to fund research that aids patients in making informed healthcare decisions. Primary care physicians are calling foul however, asserting the grant money is not advancing PCORI's intended mission.
Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., conducted a study to analyze the allotment of PCORI funding. Academic Medicine published the study online.
Here are five discussion points:
1. The researchers examined PCORI's first six funding rounds. They analyzed if PCORI and NIH funding diverged by investigator, department and institution.
2. Although 50 percent of physician visits occur in the primary care setting, less than one-third of PCORI grants were awarded in the primary care setting.
3. PCORI is succeeding in diversifying research with 25 percent of principal investigators holding PhDs.
4. The study authors emphasized primary care is the best place for positive impact on patient healthcare because most healthcare is accessed through primary care.
5. The Affordable Care Act created the PCORI.
"Overall, the record we are seeing from PCORI is a mixed bag, and while we're not shocked that primary care is not better represented, it's still very disappointing," said Daniel Merenstein, MD, the study's senior investigator.
