Skip to main content
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
  • Blog
  • Newsroom
  • Find It Fast
  • Help Center
  • Subscribe
  • Careers
  • Contact Us

PCORI

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Search form

  • About Us
    Close mega-menu

    About Us

    • Our Programs
    • Governance
    • Financials and Reports
    • Procurement Opportunities
    • Our Staff
    • Our Vision & Mission
    • Contact Us

    Fact Sheets: Learn More About PCORI

    Download fact sheets about out work, the research we fund, and our programs and initiatives.

    Find It Fast

    Browse through an alphabetical list of frequently accessed and searched terms for information and resources.

    Subscribe to PCORI Email Alerts

    Sign up for weekly emails to stay current on the latest results of our funded projects, and more.

  • Research & Results
    Close mega-menu

    Research & Results

    • Explore Our Portfolio
    • Research Fundamentals
    • Research Results Highlights
    • Putting Evidence to Work
    • Peer Review
    • Evidence Synthesis
    • About Our Research

    Evidence Updates from PCORI-Funded Studies

    These updates capture highlights of findings from systematic reviews and our funded research studies.

    Journal Articles About Our Funded Research

    Browse through a collection of journal publications that provides insights into PCORI-funded work.

    Explore Our Portfolio of Funded Projects

    Find out about projects based on the health conditions they focus on, the state they are in, and if they have results.

  • Topics
    Close mega-menu

    Topics

    • Addressing Disparities
    • Arthritis
    • Asthma
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular Disease
    • Children's Health
    • Community Health Workers
    • COVID-19
    • Dementia and Cognitive Impairment
    • Diabetes
    • Kidney Disease
    • Medicaid
    • Men's Health
    • Mental and Behavioral Health
    • Minority Mental Health
    • Multiple Chronic Conditions
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Obesity
    • Older Adults' Health
    • Pain Care and Opioids
    • Rare Diseases
    • Rural Health
    • Shared Decision Making
    • Telehealth
    • Transitional Care
    • Veterans Health
    • Women's Health

    Featured Topic: Women's Health

    Learn more about the projects we support on conditions that specifically or more often affect women.

  • Engagement
    Close mega-menu

    Engagement

    • The Value of Engagement
    • Engagement in Health Research Literature Explorer
    • Influencing the Culture of Research
    • Engagement Awards
    • Engagement Resources
    • Engage with Us

    Engagement Tools and Resources for Research

    This searchable peer-to-peer repository includes resources that can inform future work in patient-centered outcomes research.

    Explore Engagement in Health Literature

    This tool enables searching for published articles about engagement in health research.

    Research Fundamentals: A New On-Demand Training

    It enables those new to health research or patient-centered research to learn more about the research process.

  • Funding Opportunities
    Close mega-menu

    Funding Opportunities

    • What & Who We Fund
    • What You Need to Know to Apply
    • Applicant Training
    • Merit Review
    • Awardee Resources
    • Help Center

    PCORI Funding Opportunities

    View and learn about the newly opened funding announcements and the upcoming PFAs in 2021.

    Tips for Submitting a Responsive LOI

    Find out what PCORI looks for in a letter of intent (LOI) along with other helpful tips.

    PCORI Awardee Resources

    These resources can help awardees in complying with the terms and conditions of their contract.

  • Meetings & Events
    Close mega-menu

    Meetings & Events

    • Upcoming
    • Past Events

    PCORI 2021 and Beyond

    During this webinar, PCORI leaders shared ways to get involved in PCOR, improvements to our funding opportunities, and more.

    Confronting COVID-19: A Webinar Series

    Learn more about the series and access recordings and summary reports of all six sessions.

    2020 PCORI Annual Meeting

    Watch recordings of all sessions, and view titles and descriptions of the posters presented at the virtual meeting.

You are here

  • Research & Results
  • Explore Our Portfolio
  • Kaiser Permanente & Strategic Par...

Kaiser Permanente & Strategic Partners Patient Outcomes Research To Advance Learning (PORTAL) Network - Phase I

Sign Up for Updates to This Study  

Project Summary  

Patient Outcomes Research To Advance Learning (PORTAL) is a new network that brings together four leading healthcare delivery systems: Kaiser Permanente, Group Health Cooperative, HealthPartners, and Denver Health. The 11 research centers affiliated with these systems will collaborate with patients, clinicians, and operational leaders to develop the infrastructure necessary to create a highly functioning clinical data research network. The senior leaders of the four health systems have provided their enthusiastic support for this proposal, as shown in the letters of support. The PORTAL network has nearly 11 million members enrolled in its delivery systems in nine states and the District of Columbia, has at least one site in each of the four major Census regions, and offers a diverse patient population that reflects the characteristics of US residents. The delivery systems that form PORTAL are integrated, have mature electronic health records (EHR) systems, and demonstrate sufficient variation in practice patterns to enable observational comparative effectiveness studies. The PORTAL sites are actively engaged in designing, conducting, and participating in clinical trials and are eager to expand their capacity to conduct pragmatic trials that produce information for patients and doctors that more closely reflects outcomes of how care is provided in the real world.

The PORTAL network proposes to create cohorts of:

  1. patients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer;
  2. adolescents and adults with severe congenital heart disease (CHD); and
  3. adults who are overweight or obese, including those who have prediabetes or diabetes.

The cohort development activity will demonstrate that the PORTAL network is able to meet the 10 criteria for a clinical data research network (CDRN) specified in the PCORI funding announcement. Further, PORTAL will offer a scientifically sound set of cohorts on which to conduct comparative effectiveness research and a foundation on which to build future cohorts.

The organization of the PORTAL network emphasizes the central role of engaged patients, clinicians, and operational leaders in the governance of the network, including participating in key decisions about cohort construction. We have created three interlocking Councils (Patient Engagement, Clinician Engagement, and Operational Engagement) that together constitute the PORTAL advisory committee. A plan for how these groups will be actively and meaningfully involved throughout the project is described in the proposal, and representatives of each of these groups were engaged in developing the proposal. By engaging broadly with Fight Colorectal Cancer, the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Association, Smart Patients, and our members, we will build considerable enthusiasm and excitement for pursuing high-priority research questions related to our cohorts.

The data systems available to the PORTAL network are comprehensive, mature, and have demonstrated their utility in previous collaborative networks and projects. Interoperability among the sites is achieved through the use of a common data model, which is built on a foundation established by the HMO Research Network, and has been expanded through Kaiser Permanente's investments in developing additional content areas. Data security, patient privacy, and confidentiality are assured through the use of established mechanisms that have been successful across multiple combinations of networks, sites, and types of projects.

We believe the PCORI funding will enable the PORTAL sites to efficiently develop subsequent cohorts over time and apply the approaches developed for PORTAL to existing or novel cohorts. We expect to be a contributing member of a national network of networks and look forward to helping to advance the nation's ability to answer questions that are important to patients about what works best for whom under what circumstances. We believe that the organizational structure that we establish through PORTAL will substantially increase opportunities to translate research findings back into improvements in the delivery of health care.

Journal Articles

Related Articles

BMC Cancer

A population-based survey to assess the association between cannabis and quality of life among colorectal cancer survivors

Obesity

Antiobesity Medication Use in 2.2 Million Adults Across Eight Large Health Care Organizations: 2009-2015

Cancer Causes & Control

Treatment patterns and survival differ between early-onset and late-onset colorectal cancer patients: the patient outcomes to advance learning network

Obesity

Safety and Effectiveness of Longer-Term Phentermine Use: Clinical Outcomes from an Electronic Health Record Cohort

Obesity

Safety and Effectiveness of Longer-Term Phentermine Use: Clinical Outcomes from an Electronic Health Record Cohort

Supportive Care In Cancer

Health care improvement and survivorship priorities of colorectal cancer survivors: findings from the PORTAL colorectal cancer cohort survey

Supportive Care In Cancer

Health care improvement and survivorship priorities of colorectal cancer survivors: findings from the PORTAL colorectal cancer cohort survey

Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology

Interacting effects of obesity, race, ethnicity and sex on the incidence and control of adult-onset asthma

Preventive Medicine Reports

Racial and ethnic minority patients report different weight-related care experiences than non-Hispanic Whites

EGEMS

Building a Governance Strategy for CER: The Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) Network Experience

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

Developing a data infrastructure for a learning health system: the PORTAL network

More on this Project  

View Phase II Award

Project Details

Principal Investigator
Elizabeth A. McGlynn, PhD
Project Status
PCORnet: Phase I completed; Phase II in progress
Project End Date
October 2015
Organization
Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
Year Awarded
2013
State
California
Project Type
PCORnet: Clinical Data Research Networks (CDRN) Phase I
Project Budget
$6,385,011
Study Registration Information
HSRP20143468
Page Last Updated: 
October 7, 2019

Research & Results

  • Explore Our Portfolio
  • Research Fundamentals
  • Research Results Highlights
  • Putting Evidence to Work
  • Peer Review
  • Evidence Synthesis
  • About Our Research

About Us

  • Our Programs
  • Governance
  • Financials and Reports
  • Procurement Opportunities
  • Our Staff
  • Our Vision & Mission
  • Contact Us

Research & Results

  • Explore Our Portfolio
  • Research Fundamentals
  • Research Results Highlights
  • Putting Evidence to Work
  • Peer Review
  • Evidence Synthesis
  • About Our Research

Engagement

  • The Value of Engagement
  • Engagement in Health Research Literature Explorer
  • Influencing the Culture of Research
  • Engagement Awards
  • Engagement Resources
  • Engage with Us

Funding Opportunities

  • What & Who We Fund
  • What You Need to Know to Apply
  • Applicant Training
  • Merit Review
  • Awardee Resources
  • Help Center

Meetings & Events

March 2
Cycle 1 2021 PCORnet Phase 3 Applicant Town Hall
March 8
Engagement Awards 2021 Special Cycle -- Applicant Office Hours (One)
March 15
Priorities on the Health Horizon: Informing PCORI's Strategic Plan (Webinar)

PCORI

Footer contact address

Patient-Centered Outcomes
Research Institute

1828 L Street, NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 827-7700 | Fax: (202) 355-9558
[email protected]

Subscribe to Newsletter

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Vimeo

© 2011-2021 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademark Usage Guidelines | Credits | Help Center