MedStar Health Receives Contract to Pilot Test Patient-Reported Outcome Data Applications

Hyattsville, MD (June 18, 2018)—A team of researchers from MedStar Health has been awarded an 18-month contract from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to support the development and testing of technical tools and apps that can be used to collect patient-reported outcome data. This federal contract was awarded through AHRQ’s ACTION III (Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks) funding mechanism. This is one of three contracts that have been awarded to MedStar Health as part of this federal contract vehicle.

With the implementation of electronic health records and the growth of data available to physicians, increased efforts are being made to access more information directly from patients to help clinicians make informed care decisions. This includes the use of patient-reported outcome data, which are any reports of the status of a patient’s health condition that comes directly from the patient, without interpretation by a clinician.  Such patient information captures quality of life, ongoing symptoms, and daily activities, and can help guide clinicians in their care and treatment decisions. 

“Ensuring that patients have a way to report on outcomes that are meaningful to them is critical to the delivery of safe and effective care. The growth of data science as part of clinical care is helping us at MedStar Health to turn this data into improved quality of life for our patients,” says Neil Weissman, MD, chief scientific officer for MedStar Health and president of MedStar Health Research Institute. “The ongoing collaboration through the ACTION III network will help to advance the health of patients beyond our care sites and community.”

The team’s co-principal investigators are Deliya Wesley, PhD, MPH, and Kathryn M. Kellogg, MD, MPH, with Raj Ratwani, PhD, serving as the project director. Georgetown University and the CAPRICORN Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) are collaborators on this project.

MedStar Health will support the development and testing of two apps using specified health IT requirements and standards for use with electronic health records or other health information technology systems to collect patient-reported outcome data for clinical and research use.

The team will work with key stakeholders to collect information on the usability and functional requirements for the apps designed to collect patient-reported outcome data on physical functioning. The apps will be pilot-tested and evaluated in 10 diverse primary and specialty care practices across MedStar Health and eight CAPRICORN primary care sites. The apps will be evaluated on the success of data collection and integration of these data within the electronic health record for clinical decisions, quality improvement, and research.

About MedStar Health Research Institute

The MedStar Health Research Institute is the research arm of MedStar Health, the largest healthcare provider in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region. MHRI provides scientific, administrative and regulatory support for research programs throughout the MedStar Health system. MHRI’s expertise includes translational research into disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. These programs complement the key clinical services and teaching programs in the 10 MedStar hospitals and other MedStar entities. For more information, visit www.MedStarResearch.org. 

About MedStar Health
MedStar Health is a not-for-profit health system dedicated to caring for people in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region while advancing the practice of medicine through education, innovation, and research. MedStar’s 30,000 associates, 6,000 affiliated physicians, 10 hospitals, ambulatory care and urgent care centers, and the MedStar Health Research Institute are recognized regionally and nationally for excellence in medical care. As the medical education and clinical partner of Georgetown University, MedStar trains more than 1,100 medical residents annually. MedStar Health’s patient-first philosophy combines care, compassion and clinical excellence with an emphasis on customer service. For more information, visit MedStarHealth.org.