Binder, Haywood among PCORI panelists

Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, and Dr. Trent Haywood, chief medical officer of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, are among the final roster of 84 individuals chosen by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to serve on its four advisory panels, the organization announced Monday.

The list of panelists includes a range of different stakeholders, such as policymakers, industry representatives, healthcare systems and payers. Thirty-two patients, caregivers and patient advocates made the cut, as did 15 clinicians and 19 researchers.

Each of the four panels—addressing healthcare disparities; patient and caregiver engagement; healthcare system improvement; and assessment of prevention, diagnosis and treatment options—has 21 members.

“Our advisory panels are representative of our diverse stakeholder community—contributing valuable experience and expertise to our efforts to build a portfolio of patient-centered comparative effectiveness research,” said Dr. Anne Beal, PCORI's deputy executive director, chief officer for engagement and chief operating officer, in a news release.

Selected from among a field of 1,021 applicants, the panel members will assist PCORI by providing feedback and guidance, identifying research priorities and disseminating comparative effectiveness research.

PCORI announced the proposed panel lists during a March 26 board of governors webinar.

Haywood and Binder were both selected to serve on the advisory panel on improving healthcare systems, which also includes Daniel Cherkin, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute, Seattle; and Annie Lewis O'Connor, a nurse practitioner and associate professor at Boston University Medical Center.

Not surprisingly, patients, caregivers and patient advocates were a significant presence on the advisory panel on patient engagement, holding 13 of the 21 seats, or 62%. But they also held a sizable number of spots on the other panels.

Panel members will serve one-year terms and may be reappointed for a maximum of two terms, PCORI said.

Established by the healthcare reform law to fund, promote and disseminate comparative effectiveness research, PCORI in December announced more than $40 million in funding awards for its first round of comparative effectiveness research projects.