Clauser to lead PCORI's Improving Healthcare Systems program

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has tapped Steven Clauser of the National Cancer Institute to serve as director of its Improving Healthcare Systems Program.

Clauser will succeed Dr. Chad Boult, who held the post since October 2012.

PCORI, a Washington-based not-for-profit, was established by the healthcare reform law to fund and promote comparative effectiveness research. The Improving Healthcare Systems program that Clauser will head is one of five that correspond to PCORI's five main research priorities, which include improving health disparities and assessing prevention, diagnosis and treatment options.

According to PCORI, projects that fall into the “improving health systems” category address topics such as care coordination across settings, system-level approaches to improving access to care, and efforts to reduce waste. To date, the program has awarded more than $89 million in research grants, including more than $24 million awarded in September.

Clauser will join PCORI from the National Cancer Institute, where he served since 2005 as chief of the outcomes research branch of the NCI's division of cancer control and population sciences. Before his work at NCI, Clauser held leadership posts at the CMS, including director of the agency's quality measurement and health assessment group.

In a news release, PCORI said Boult will continue to serve as a consultant through 2014, “providing his insights on major research projects initiated during his tenure, including a joint project with the National Institute on Aging to support research on a strategy for preventing fall-related injuries in older adults.”

Follow Maureen McKinney on Twitter: @MHMMcKinney