Inflexxion, Inc. Approved for Funding Award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

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Newton, MA (PRWEB) January 22, 2014

Inflexxion, a leader in health care information technology with world-class subject matter experts and a research staff that develops scientifically-based, interactive technologies to improve lives through behavioral change, has been approved for a funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study chronic pain patients’ use of innovative technology to improve care coordination and patient engagement. The study is one of 82 proposals approved for PCORI funding on December 17 to advance the field of patient-centered comparative effectiveness research and provide patients with information that will help them make better-informed decisions about their care.

Traci Green, PhD, Director of Public Health Research and Methodology at Inflexxion will lead the research project, joined by colleagues at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. The study will focus on better understanding the challenges of engaging in a novel chronic pain care initiative within the Rhode Island Medicaid Communities of Care program and developing and testing a cell phone text message intervention compared to a patient navigation approach to increase patient engagement and self-management of chronic pain. The Communities of Care program is inclusive of all Medicaid eligible persons who have used the emergency room four or more times in a one year period, and holds as its goal to improve health outcomes by helping members address their health care needs and in the process reduce avoidable or inappropriate emergency room use.

“We welcome this exciting opportunity to bring patients, providers, and managed care programs together, and to study how we can use technology to build a more effective patient-centered approach to managing chronic pain for patients in Rhode Island’s Communities of Care program,” says Dr. Green.

“This project was selected for PCORI funding not only for its scientific merit and commitment to engaging patients and other stakeholders, but also for its potential to fill an important gap in our health knowledge and give people information to help them weigh the effectiveness of their care options,” said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. “We look forward to following the study’s progress and working with Inflexxion to share the results.”

Inflexxion’s study and the other projects approved for funding by PCORI’s Board of Governors on December 17 were selected from 624 applications submitted to PCORI's funding announcements. All were selected through a highly competitive review process in which patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders joined scientists to evaluate the proposals. Applications were assessed for scientific merit, how well they will engage patients and other stakeholders, and their methodological rigor among other criteria.

Inflexxion’s study joins PCORI's expanding portfolio, which now includes 279 patient-centered CER studies and initiatives. PCORI has awarded a total of $464.4 million since it began funding CER in 2012. For more information about PCORI funding, visit http://pcori.org/funding-opportunities.

About Inflexxion
Inflexxion develops scientifically-based, interactive technologies that help people improve their lives through behavioral change. Partners and customers rely on Inflexxion for online programs that reduce health-related risks, enhance clinical outcomes, and positively influence quality of care. Inflexxion has received over $55 million in grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), and has developed over 50 assessment, intervention and prevention programs in its behavioral health, risk management, and consumer health divisions. Inflexxion was founded in 1989 and is located in Newton, MA.

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 health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. More information is available at http://www.pcori.org.

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