Electronic Primary Care Research Network (ePCRN):A New Era in Practice-based Research

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

from pa nurses enewsletter:

the electronic primary care research network (epcrn): a new era in practice-based research

more people in the united states visit a primary care provider over the course of a year than visit all other physicians combined. in 2001 , over 51% of all physician visits were to family medicine/general practice , general internal medicine , or pediatrics.[1] nevertheless , over the last 50 years the great majority of research funded by the national institutes of health (nih) has taken place in academic centers where less than 1% of patients are seen.[2] historically , office-based primary care physicians have been isolated from the nih research enterprise , and it has been estimated to take up to 17 years for 30% of evidence-based recommendations to be incorporated into medical care.[3] the nih has recognized that in order for the existing clinical research enterprise in the united states to remain successful , new partnerships with primary care providers must be developed.[4] such partnerships should enhance the ability of clinical investigators to conduct research in their practices , as well as facilitate the rapid integration of new research findings into clinical care.

the electronic primary care research network (epcrn) was funded in 2004 as part of the nih roadmap initiative "re-engineering the clinical research enterprise" with the aim of addressing these issues. the purpose of this article is to describe the epcrn and its potential to facilitate randomized controlled trials (rcts) in primary care practices throughout the united states . the epcrn will also provide an infrastructure that can present new research findings and evidence-based guidelines to clinicians in the context of a specific patient , leading to valuable applications for clinical performance monitoring and quality improvement efforts.

to read the rest of this article , please click here: (log-in required) [color=#336699]http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/521630?src=mp

source: [color=#336699]journal of the american board of family medicine

[misplaced1]

this is awesome