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Ethan Basch, MD, MS, a UNC Lineberger member, director of the UNC Lineberger Cancer Outcomes Research Program, and an associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology, has been approved for a funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

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Ethan Basch, MD, MS, a UNC Lineberger member, director of the UNC Lineberger Cancer Outcomes Research Program, and an associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology.

A research team led by a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher has been approved for more than $1 million in funding by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to develop and evaluate patient-reported outcomes-based performance measures nationally.

The project will be led by Ethan Basch, MD, MS, a UNC Lineberger member, director of the UNC Lineberger Cancer Outcomes Research Program, and a professor in the UNC School of Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology. The project will be overseen by Angela Stover, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in the UNC Cancer Care Quality Training Program who is working with Basch. With the funding, their team will launch a three-year project to develop and evaluate a patient-centered approach to assessing the quality of health care cancer patients receive. Currently, the quality of care patients receive is often evaluated using administrative data such as hospital readmission rates rather than using input from patients on whether they saw improvement in pain or other symptoms. This project will be done in partnership with the American Society of Medical Oncology (ASCO), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and national patient organizations.

“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 UNC Lineberger to share the results.”

The study was selected through a highly competitive review process in which patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders joined clinical scientists to evaluate the proposals.

“We are excited to lead this national work with PCORI support to develop cancer quality measures that are truly patient-centered,” Basch said.

As part of the study, the researchers first will conduct more than 100 in-depth interviews, including with patients about their impressions of using existing patient-reported outcomes questionnaires, and clinicians and others about barriers to implementing questionnaires into their practice. Then, they will then do a review of all available questionnaires adults can use to report their cancer symptoms. Finally, they will test the questionnaires in clinics around the country.

For the project, the investigators are working with investigators from three different patient organizations including the Research Advocacy Network, Patients and Partners, and the Cancer Information and Support Network, as well as with key state and national organizations. They believe the work will improve care for adults with cancer by incorporating the patient voice into the process for evaluating how well care was provided.