Statement: Grayson Norquist, Chair, PCORI Board of Governors, in Response to GAO Report on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Grayson Norquist, MD, MSPH, Chairperson of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors, issued the following statement about today’s U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on how PCORI is fulfilling its obligations under its authorizing legislation.

“PCORI leadership and staff are very pleased to see the GAO affirm that we have met the requirements set forth in PCORI’s authorizing legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), to establish priorities, programs, and processes that will enable us to fulfill our mission to produce evidence-based information that will enhance healthcare decisions,” Norquist said.

“GAO’s initial assessment of PCORI found that PCORI has met its mandate to establish research priorities and a research agenda as well as processes to seek proposals for and fund useful comparative effectiveness research (CER) studies. In fact, since the GAO review was completed, PCORI has approved another $64.1 million to fund five large patient-centered CER studies under its Pragmatic Clinical Studies program that will answer critical clinical questions about care for cancer, back pain, and stroke, bringing to nearly $735 million our investment to date in 365 CER or related research projects.

“GAO’s report also affirms that PCORI has developed and is promoting the application of solid methodology standards for conducting trustworthy CER. And it affirms that we are making good progress in developing processes for disseminating the results of the studies we fund and evaluating the effectiveness of our work.  

“We are committed to serving as good stewards of the public funds entrusted to us for research that helps patients and those who care for them make better-informed health and healthcare decisions. We look forward to working with the entire healthcare community as we do so.”

Norquist chairs PCORI’s 21-member multi-stakeholder Board of Governors. He is Vice-Chair, Emory University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Chief of the Psychiatry Service at Grady Health System in Atlanta, Ga.

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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 healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.