PCORI to Support Medicaid Medical Directors Network

Washington, D.C. (May 29, 2014) -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has awarded the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) a $160,000 contract to support the work of the Medicaid Medical Directors Network (MMDN).

The funds, provided through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards program, will advance the network’s efforts to promote the use of evidence-based care and services in the delivery of quality care to Medicaid’s 72 million beneficiaries.

Through this contract, PCORI will support the convening of several meetings of network members, an online forum for information exchange, an assessment of state Medicaid Medical Directors’ views on topics for comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER), and a report on promising ways to share CER findings with Medicaid programs.

“PCORI’s mission to generate useful evidence that will help clinicians, patients, and other healthcare stakeholders make better informed healthcare decisions complements the Medicaid Medical Directors Network’s focus on advancing the use of evidence-based care, making our support of the network’s activities a win-win situation,” said Jean Slutsky, PA, MSPH, PCORI’s Chief Engagement and Dissemination Officer. “We believe this partnership can help both increase the amount of useful evidence and speed its implementation in the care of an important patient population.”

MMDN – formerly the Medicaid Medical Directors Learning Network – provides a forum for knowledge exchange to the physicians who advise states’ Medicaid Directors on clinical policy and practice. The network promotes the sharing of ideas and best practices, focusing on the use of evidence-based care and services, assessment and improvement of healthcare quality, and the redesign of healthcare delivery systems.

“We’re enthusiastic about PCORI support for the Medicaid Medical Directors Network,” said NAMD Executive Director Matt Salo.  “It helps states promote evidence-based medicine and align their efforts with quality and enhanced health outcomes.” The award is one of the first Knowledge Awards made through PCORI’s Engagement Awards program. PCORI launched this initiative earlier this year, offering up to $15.5 million in 2014 to foster opportunities for patients, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders to become more involved in patient-centered outcomes research.

Knowledge Awards build knowledge around how consumers of healthcare information receive and make use of research findings. The program also offers Training and Development Awards and Dissemination Awards. Each award provides up to $250,000 for projects lasting up to two years. Applications are for funding through the program are accepted on an ongoing basis.

About PCORI

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. More information is available at www.pcori.org.