Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Funding

PCORI is funded through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (PCORTF), which was authorized by the United States Congress as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and reauthorized through the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020.

Its annual income comes from the general fund of the U.S. Treasury and a small fee assessed on Medicare, private health insurance, and self-insured plans. The act mandates a $2 fee, adjusted for inflation, for each person covered on a group plan.

In 2018, PCORI's revenue was $506,485,458 with approved research awards of $308,000,000. It made about $2 billion in commitments for funding awards between 2010 and 2017. About $1.6 billion (79%) of its commitments through fiscal 2017 were for research awards. $325 million (16%) was used to build the capacity to use existing health data for research.

Research funding

PCORI funds research studies that focus on patient-centered outcomes rather than only on CER alone. Patient-centered outcomes research involves questions and outcomes that are "meaningful and important to patients and caregivers" in order to help those individuals make informed decisions for their own care.

As of 2019, there have been 65 research standards developed to support patient-centered outcomes research.

PCORI's authorizing legislation requires it "...to guarantee peer review of all research results and to make those results publicly accessible within 90 days of their receipt."

By engaging with health and healthcare communities, PCORI creates the framework and substance of research funding opportunities and publishes these on the PCORI website for prospective applicants. PCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs) invite applications broadly—for valuable CER projects in any health or healthcare domain—as well as through targeted methods where particular areas of interest are specified.

Organizational structure

The organization is headquartered in Washington DC, and is registered as a 501(c)(1) non-profit organization. The institute's executive director is Nakela Cook, and Russell M. Howerton is the head of the board of governors.

PCORnet

Funding from PCORI enabled the development of PCORnet, a collaboration of several networks that support research using health data collected in the course of care through electronic health records, claims, and from patients. It established and maintains a common data model that allows analysis across many sites.

References

References

1. Medicine, Institute of. (2009-06-30). "Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research".
2. "Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund Fee: Questions and Answers {{!}} Internal Revenue Service".
3. Pascrell, Bill. (2019-12-20). "Text - H.R.1865 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020".
4. Pipes, Sally. "[https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2014/05/19/obamacare-increases-large-employers-health-costs/ Obamacare Increases Large Employers' Health Costs]". ''Forbes''. May 19, 2014.
5. (July 2, 2019). "PCORI Fee Is Due by July 31 for Self-Insured Health Plans".
6. PCORI. "2018 Annual Report: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute".
7. Office, U. S. Government Accountability. (2018-03-23). "Comparative Effectiveness Research: Activities Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund".
8. (April 2012). "Methodological standards and patient-centeredness in comparative effectiveness research: the PCORI perspective". JAMA.
9. (October 2010). "Legislating against use of cost-effectiveness information". The New England Journal of Medicine.
10. "Social Security Act §1182". Social Security Agency.
11. (October 2014). "The PCORI perspective on patient-centered outcomes research". JAMA.
12. (November 12, 2015). "PCORI Methodology Standards".
13. (April 2019). "A Model for Public Access to Trustworthy and Comprehensive Reporting of Research". JAMA.
14. (2024-03-29). "PCORI's Research Funding Process {{!}} PCORI".
15. (January 15, 2020). "AAMC Statement on Next PCORI Executive Director, Nakela Cook, MD". Association of American Medical College.
16. "GAO Makes Appointments to PCORI Governing Board, New Chair and Vice Chair Named". U. S. Government Accountability Office.
17. (2014-07-01). "Launching PCORnet, a national patient-centered clinical research network". Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.