PIPC Welcomes Two New Steering Committee Members, ACRO and AOA

WASHINGTON - Oct. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) today announced the addition of two new members to its Steering Committee, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Their addition raises the number of current Steering Committee members to 13.  PIPC is comprised of a total of over 45 member organizations.

PIPC’s membership includes a diverse coalition of healthcare stakeholders representing patients, providers, researchers, and others who have come together to promote comparative effectiveness research (CER) that fosters patient access to innovative products and improves healthcare quality.  As the scope of CER continues to evolve, PIPC’s members work hard to support and develop policies that reflect PIPC’s long-standing commitment to high-quality, patient-centered CER.  For example, with a growing focus on CER dissemination and use in decision-making, PIPC developed best practices for communicating and implementing CER results to physicians and patients in ways that are patient-centered and improve care quality. Additionally, PIPC has held a series of roundtable discussions with physicians and patients resulting in policy recommendations to advance the goal of developing CER in support of high-quality, patient-centered care.  PIPC encourages all CER organizations, including the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), to embrace these recommendations.

PIPC’s Chairman Tony Coelho stated, “I am thrilled that our Steering Committee has been joined by two more outstanding healthcare leaders, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations and the American Osteopathic Association.”  Continuing, Coelho said, “Both are active PIPC members with a commitment to engaging with PCORI and other CER organizations to ensure that their research is truly patient-centered.”

John Lewis, Vice-President of Public Affairs at ACRO expressed his organization’s interest in Joining PIPC’s Steering Committee, stating, “Representing the global leaders in clinical and real world research, we view PIPC as an important watchdog to ensure PCORI’s projects adhere to the highest standards of research methods and provide real value to patients and the U.S. healthcare system.”

PIPC's Steering Committee is comprised of the following organizations: The Alliance for Aging Research, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Osteopathic Association, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations, BIO, Easter Seals, the Epilepsy Foundation, the National Association for Hispanic Health, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, PhRMA, and the American Association for Cancer Research. PIPC can also be followed on Facebook and Twitter at @pipcpatients.