Facilitating the uptake of evidence from PCORI-funded research is a key part of our work and mission. To expand our efforts to promote the uptake of useful research results in practice, PCORI developed a funding opportunity to engage health systems—a critical layer in America’s healthcare infrastructure—in the Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII).

Through this new funding initiative, participating health systems—healthcare delivery systems and provider-aligned health plans—will have the opportunity to lead efforts to support lasting changes in care and care delivery that will improve patient outcomes. PCORI will offer up to $50 million over five years to support health systems in initiating these changes and evaluating their impact.

Why This New Initiative?

PCORI’s Dissemination and Implementation funding opportunities currently include both limited and open competition awards, all led by investigator teams working within and across clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare settings.​ HSII offers a new and different approach, this time by directly funding organizations responsible for healthcare delivery. 

It also offers unique advantages. HSII will enable PCORI to engage with healthcare delivery systems and provider-affiliated health plans that bring a wealth of on-the-ground experience and intimate knowledge of how to accomplish change in their care delivery settings. The initiative will also allow health systems and plans to learn from each other. By conducting projects to implement evidence-based practices, health systems will be leaders in refining, employing, and demonstrating workable strategies to improve care in real-world settings.

HSII Sets Important Goals

This new funding initiative establishes several goals to support the uptake of findings from PCORI-funded research. Importantly, HSII projects will promote the delivery of evidence-based care to a significant number of patients served by the participating health systems across racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse delivery settings.

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HSII will also allow health systems to demonstrate feasible approaches for integrating evidence into practice, paving the way for other health systems to learn from these experiences. These efforts will lay the groundwork for future, nationwide scale-up through demonstration of successful implementation approaches, ultimately bolstering the trustworthiness and real-world relevance of PCORI’s work to advance patient-centered outcomes research.

“When healthcare systems adopt and implement PCORI-funded evidence into practice, the credibility and usefulness of our work becomes very real and meaningful,” said Mike Herndon, DO, a member of PCORI’s Board of Governors and chair of the Engagement, Dissemination, and Implementation Committee. “The ultimate outcome of this important initiative is greater uptake and spread of evidence which leads to better patient care and better health outcomes.”

Learn More and Apply to Participate in HSII

HSII Will Support Health System Efforts to Improve Patient Care

HSII is designed to appeal to a range of potential applicants, from large academic health systems with a depth of research and implementation experience to health systems that are dedicated to caring for patients and communities that are underresourced and experience disadvantages, resulting in healthcare and health inequities.

“Essential hospitals anchor their care on evidence-based practices amidst limited resources,” said Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, president and chief executive officer of America’s Essential Hospitals, an association with more than 300 member hospitals that works to advance policies and programs that promote health, healthcare access, and equity. “PCORI's initiative to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based practice will facilitate lasting change in health systems dedicated to equitable, high-quality care for all. It will especially support hospitals addressing social and financial barriers to care.”

Eva Powell, MSW, associate director of clinical innovation at the Alliance of Community Health Plans, also recognizes the importance and benefit of implementing evidence-based practices in health system settings.

"Evidence requires feasible and sustainable workflows to impact patients,” Powell said. “Collaborative work between providers and payers helps define the facilitators and limitations of real-world applications, as well as determine the policies and procedures needed to make the practice feasible. In turn, this collaboration enables an aligned approach to making the investments necessary for the process to be financially sustainable over time so that the evidence becomes standard practice.

"Provider-aligned health plans are natural innovators and will find PCORI's HSII initiative an exciting opportunity to accelerate what they are already doing: exploring ways in which payers and providers working together can better deliver on the promise of a truly patient-centered, equitable, accessible, and sustainable healthcare system."

Learn How to Participate

Interested organizations must apply to become an HSII Participant. The Call for Proposals to Participate in HSII is open February 15 to March 29. Visit the HSII web page for application details and resources.