PCORI Funds $71.5 Million for Research on Telehealth Use for Mental Health Conditions
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a nonprofit authorized by Congress in 2010 to fund research for health care, announced that $71.5 million will be given to fund 12 research studies focusing on the use of telehealth for mental health conditions and disorders.
Two of the studies in particular focus on reducing maternal morbidity and mortality, and improving care for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The board will also provide $9 million for projects to facilitate the uptake of PCORI-funded research results and the development of topics for new funding opportunities. This specifically applies to studies regarding the treatment of urinary incontinence, care of patients with sickle cell disease and maternal health care.
One project will optimize sickle cell disease care for about 35,000 patients in nine states by deploying an infusion center implementation toolkit.
Another project will match patients with therapists based on primary mental health concerns using electronic health records from about 50 mental health centers reaching 60,000 patients across 30 states.
Along with the latest awards, PCORI has so far invested more than $3.2 billion in funds to patient-centered comparative effectiveness research to identify which clinical and public health interventions work best for improving health.
The board aims to take the robust data generated from these PCORI-funded studies to support patients and those who care for them to make more informed decisions about their care, and inform a national dialogue about patient-centered health and health care.
Alexa can be reached at [email protected]
