Harris Health System joins 41 other health systems nationwide in an elite network named by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to pioneer initiatives aimed at achieving better patient health outcomes. The prestigious inclusion in PCORI’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) means Harris Health will bring its on-the-ground experience and expertise in healthcare delivery to develop and implement viable strategies to actively adopt new evidence. The ultimate goal is to cut the estimated 17-year lag from publication of research results that have been shown to improve patients’ outcomes, and their widespread uptake in healthcare practice.

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.

“I’m beyond excited to know that Harris Health System is a PCORI HSII participant. PCORI HSII and Harris Health are a perfect fit. We share the same goals of deploying evidence-based and innovative care, evaluating and scaling impactful programs, and making meaningful improvements at a population level,” says Esmaeil Porsa, MD, MPH, president and CEO, Harris Health. “Moreover, we know and practice the philosophy that good health is the product of many forces. We take very seriously our responsibility as a health safety net and coordinating body for a huge proportion of our community’s most-vulnerable populations. I’m especially excited to deepen our practice change and program evaluation partnership with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and our medical school partners through this initiative.”

In addition, through the HSII Learning Network, Harris 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 and health-improving 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 Harris Health, they include academic medical centers, community-based systems, integrated healthcare delivery and finance systems, faith-based systems, and a medical center within the Veterans Health Administration.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with Harris Health and the other health systems participating in this groundbreaking initiative that will leverage their knowledge and experience to facilitate practice change and improve care based on results of PCORI-funded research,” said Nakela L. Cook, MD, MPH, executive director, PCORI. “The HSII participants’ efforts will lay the groundwork for future expansion and broader implementation by demonstrating pathways to uptake and sharing lessons learned across health systems.”

HSII is part of a portfolio of PCORI-funded efforts that aim to improve the awareness, uptake and use of results from patient-centered comparative effectiveness research. PCORI is an independent, nonprofit organization that funds comparative clinical effectiveness research, which provides patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence to make better-informed health and healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.