Temple Health is one of 42 health systems nationwide selected to participate in the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) to accelerate the uptake of practice-changing research results in clinical care to improve quality and patient outcomes. The goal of this multi-year PCORI initiative is to help cut the estimated 17-year lag between publication of medical research results and their widespread implementation in real-world practice settings.

Serving as co-leads for this initiative are Claire Raab, MD, President and CEO of Temple Faculty Physicians, and Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

“Temple Health’s quality outcomes and national recognitions no doubt figured prominently in PCORI’s selection of Temple Health for this initiative,” said Dr. Raab. “And importantly, our close partnership with Dean Goldberg at the Katz School of Medicine is tremendously valuable to the success of this PCORI project. Our vibrant collegiality with the medical school’s researchers and faculty drives our collaboration in cutting-edge clinical care, pioneering research, and shared responsibility for improving practice performance and patient outcomes.

“Temple Health’s selection for participation in PCORI’s initiative is a testament to the evidence-based care that is a mission-imperative across Temple Health’s integrated education and patient care,” said Dr. Goldberg. “Through our collaboration and partnership, we work to develop new models of care with community input to continuously refine how we deliver care to our patients and educate the next generation of physicians.”  

“Temple was chosen for HSII participation because we are recognized as an academic medical center that effectively puts evidence-based medical research into practice,” said Michael A. Young, MHA, FACHE, President and CEO of Temple Health. “Thanks to Dr. Raab’s and Dr. Goldberg’s success at earning Temple Health’s participation in this PCORI HSII project, Temple Health is once again in the spotlight as a national model for significant and sustainable quality care.”

HSII participating health systems have the opportunity to prepare proposals for capacity building projects in the first stage of the initiative. Each participating health system can receive up to $500,000 for a project in this initial stage that supports preparation for future implementation strategies. A second HSII funding opportunity will support practical and innovative projects that promote uptake of specific evidence from PCORI-funded research studies within the health systems, with funds ranging from $500,000 to $5 million per implementation project.

In addition, through the HSII Learning Network, Temple Health and other participants will share experiences and learn from one another about best practices for implementation, evaluation metrics, and other topics integral to successful implementation of care-informing strategies. Through the network, participants will provide input to PCORI on topics and specific PCORI-funded findings of interest for future implementation projects.

HSII participants collectively represent 800 hospitals serving 79 million unique patients—nearly a quarter of the U.S. population—across 41 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to health systems like Temple Health, they include academic medical centers, community-based systems, integrated healthcare delivery and finance systems, safety net health systems, faith-based systems, public health care delivery systems and a medical center within the Veterans Health Administration. See the full list on PCORI’s website.