Happy November, everyone! I, for one, am looking forward to cooler weather after such a hot summer in Portland. Autumn is my favorite time of year as leaves change color, the weather turns colder, and we gear up for the holidays.
Here are a few updates for you all:
I attended the PCORnet PI meeting on October 24th with co-PI, Jen Devoe. Here are a few take-aways:
- The new CEO of PCRF, Kathy Hudson, gave a presentation about PCRF and its plans for the future. Applications for network to apply to join PCRF will be sent out in December. Applications will be due back around the end of February, and awards announced in May. This timeline is preliminary, so may change a bit.
- PCRF has a new website, which you can view here: http://pcrfoundation.org/
- The question was raised about no-cost extensions to current PCORnet contracts. No promises were made, but PCORI said they will look into the possibility and let us all know. Joe Selby said he liked the idea, but PCORI has not done this before. It was pointed out that, if this is going to be allowed, the networks need to be told soon.
Also, this week Vance and Molly are attending the PCORI Annual Meeting in DC. They will give us all updates on what they learned there in our next AAC meeting.
Our data team continues to do great work. They have successfully updated the ADVANCE data warehouse and common data model (CDM) to include all quarterly extracts from all data partners. We then also successfully passed the PCORnet data checks, meaning our data can be used for PCORnet prep-to-research queries. (This process of loading our data then running PCORnet data quality checks is done quarterly.)
PCORnet has shared its tentative plan for building out the Common Data Model to include some additional elements, tables, and category lists. These specs have been shared with our ADVANCE partners; feedback was expected by October 31st. PCORnet will next take all feedback and adjust the new CDM specs accordingly, and communicate these adjustments to all of us.
The Health Disparities CRG, which ADVANCE leads in partnership with PRIDEnet, is moving along. Our Research Interest Groups are pushing for proposal ideas, hopefully to be put forward by the end of the CRG contract which ends on Dec. 31st. Applications for CRG renewals were distributed last week, so we will be applying to continue the work of our CRG.
I’d also like to share a brief update from Nate Warren, the ADVANCE engagement coordinator. Nate writes: “The ADVANCE Patient Engagement Panel held its October meeting on 10/18, where the new ADVANCE website was introduced and received feedback from the PEP membership. PEP members also provided guidance on the newly-funded PCORI Back on Track project, which holds the primary goal to evaluate the impact of new Oregon Medicaid payment rules for back pain. The ADVANCE health policy program area also had an engagement-focused oral presentation accepted in October to the 2018 IPFCC Conference, entitled “Developing a multi-level model for patient engagement in a Practice-based Research Network.” The 8th International Conference on Patient- and Family-Centered Care takes place in Baltimore, Maryland in June 2018.”
As always, thank you all for being part of ADVANCE! You are all doing great work to further research that assists the safety net, and I am proud to be working with each and every one of you.
Jon