News and Events

A New PCORnet® Population Insights Report Highlights Potential for Impactful Research on Sensory Health Conditions

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Sensory health plays a critical role in how people experience the world, including how they see, hear, move, and communicate. Research addressing evidence gaps in screening, treatment, and support services will help improve outcomes and ensure people at risk of sensory health conditions receive timely, high-quality care.

A new PCORnet® Population Insights Report is now publicly available, offering researchers  timely insights into patients with sensory health conditions who have received healthcare services at a site participating in PCORnet.

The report offers a comprehensive overview of the demographics and geographic characteristics of over 9 million adults and children who received healthcare services at 75 sites participating in PCORnet between January 1 – December 31, 2024, and had a sensory health condition reflected in their electronic health record in the past five years, from January 1, 2020 – December 24, 2024.

The report includes patients with sensory health conditions, such as vision disorders, hearing disorders, disorders that cause dizziness, smell and taste disorders, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and autoimmune disorders. Four tables in the report highlight different characteristics of patients with sensory health conditions including

  • Demographics
  • Geographic characteristics
  • Characteristics of care setting and provider type
  • Co-occurring conditions, screenings, and hearing device assessments

The Population Insights Report is a valuable resource for researchers, enabling them to assess how the PCORnet infrastructure can be used to conduct national-scale, patient-centered research to improve sensory health. These reports offer the largest national query of real-world data on health conditions, populations, or service utilization.

Population Insights Reports are also available for other areas of health research including:

Highlights and illustrations from the reports are available to view on the Population Insights webpage.

Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to learn how you can use PCORnet resources to support your patient-centered health research.

New PCORnet® Playbook Case Studies: Patient-Centered Health Research in Action

Posted on by Jodi Snare

More than 300 research projects have used the PCORnet® infrastructure to support patient-centered health research that helps patients, caregivers, clinicians, health systems, and policymakers make better-informed healthcare decisions.

The new PCORnet® Playbook Case Studies module highlights real-world examples of how PCORnet® Study teams have:

  • Used the PCORnet® Common Data Model to quickly identify potential participants, assess study outcomes, and confirm the generalizability of their findings.
  • Collaborated with the research-ready community of PCORnet to design studies that reflect patient perspectives and support broader dissemination.
  • Leveraged research expertise within the network to conduct multi-site studies and accelerate their research to deliver fast, trustworthy answers.

Researchers who partner with PCORnet have access to representative health data, research expertise, and patient-informed insights. Whether you are a new or an experienced researcher, the PCORnet® Playbook is your guide to using PCORnet.

In addition to case studies, the PCORnet® Playbook includes:

  • Introduction to PCORnet – Provides an overview of the PCORnet infrastructure and the types of research the network supports.
  • Getting Started with PCORnet – Outlines how to access network resources through the PCORnet® Front Door.
  • Using PCORnet to Power Your Research – Highlights no-cost services provided by the PCORnet® Front Door team.
  • Sharing Your Research Results – Explores approaches to dissemination and implementation in PCORnet® Studies.

Read the full PCORnet® Playbook.

Research projects powered by PCORnet® span a range of sizes, designs, therapeutic areas, populations, and funding sources, including PCORI, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and industry sponsors. All research teams started with the same step: reaching out.

When you are ready to get started, contact the PCORnet® Front Door to connect with experts who can help you access PCORnet resources and move your research project forward.

AcademyHealth 2026 Annual Research Meeting

Posted on by Jodi Snare

May 30-June 2, 2026
Seattle

AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting brings together researchers, policymakers, and clinicians with the shared goal of improving health and health care. The meeting theme this year is Rigor and Relevance Driving Action. Please join one of the PCORnet sessions and visit with the PCORnet® Front Door team at the exhibit booth.

  • Adjunct Meeting: PCORnet® 101: A National Resource for Patient-Centered Health Research (Registration for this session is required. Meeting attendees can register here.)
    Sunday, May 31 from 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm (PDT)
  • Session: Learning Health Systems in the United States: Are We There Yet?
    Monday, June 1 from 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (PDT)

Learn about the AcademyHealth 2026 Annual Research Meeting

ISPOR 2026

Posted on by Jodi Snare

May 17-20, 2026
Philadelphia

ISPOR is the Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research. Join PCORnet at ISPOR 2026 and attend our poster presentation: Promise of Real-World Data Networks: Innovations in Trial Design using PCORnet®
Monday, May 18 at 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm (ET).

Learn more about ISPOR.

Datavant Collaboration: Privacy-Preserving Record Linkage and Network Enablement

Posted on by Jodi Snare

May 6, 2026
12 pm – 1 pm (ET) 

Please join the Coordinating Center for PCORnet® for a Best Practices Sharing Session on Wednesday, May 6, 12-1pm ET, focused on how Datavant supports collaboration across PCORnet. Our guest speakers for this webinar are from Datavant:

  • Claire Manneh, Sr. Practice Lead for Provider Research Institutions
  • Alyna Dada, Strategic Engagement Lead for Provider Research Institutions

Since 2019, Datavant has served as a secure connectivity layer for PCORnet, supporting 78 PCORnet® network partners across eight PCORnet® Clinical Research Networks (CRNs) through privacy-preserving record linkage and network enablement.

This session will provide an overview of Datavant’s engagement with PCORnet, including how CRNs can collaborate with Datavant on research projects, pathways for partnership, and how Datavant can support network-wide connectivity. The presentation will also highlight Datavant’s core offerings, including privacy-preserving record linkage, Datavant Connect for partnership discovery, and capabilities that enable scalable, multi-site research and real-world evidence generation.

Please contact the [email protected] for a calendar invite.

Empowering Multi-Site Studies via Federated Learning Using Privacy-Preserving Distributed Algorithms (PDA)

Posted on by Jodi Snare

April 22, 2026
12 pm – 1 pm (ET) 

Please join the Coordinating Center for PCORnet® for a Best Practices Sharing Session on Wednesday, April 22, 12-1pm ET. Our guest speaker for this webinar is Dr. Yong Chen, Professor of Biostatistics at Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Chen’s presentation is titled, “Empowering Multi-Site Studies via Federated Learning Using Privacy-Preserving Distributed Algorithms (PDA).” He will present a practical overview of Privacy-Preserving Distributed Algorithms (PDA) for federated learning across multi-institutional networks. The session will highlight how PDA enables association, causal, and subphenotyping analyses without sharing individual-level patient data, drawing on real-world deployments within PCORnet, OHDSI, and other national research networks.

Please contact the [email protected] for a calendar invite.

PCORnet and STAR Clinical Research Network Workshop

Posted on by Jodi Snare

April 16, 2026
12 pm – 4 pm (ET) 

Erwin Square Plaza
2200 W. Main St.
Wing B Training Room 252
Durham, NC 27705

This hybrid workshop is designed for investigators and industry partners who are new to PCORnet and STAR Clinical Research Network (CRN) operations. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of PCORnet and the STAR CRN’s capabilities, explore meaningful insights, and discover opportunities to spark new collaborations in medical research.

Register here.

Mark your Calendar! PCORI to Announce New Funding Opportunities for PCORnet® Studies

Posted on by Jodi Snare

On April 1, PCORI will release the Broad Pragmatic Studies (BPS) PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) to support high-quality patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). Category 3 supports PCORnet® Studies with direct costs of up to $12 million.

PCORnet® Studies are defined as those that:

  • Include two or more PCORnet® Clinical Research Networks (CRNs)
  • Share study progress and performance metrics
  • Exchange best practices with the network to promote continuous learning and improvement
  • Leverage the PCORnet® Common Data Model as appropriate

PCORI has identified four specific areas of emphasis for this PFA: addressing obesity; diabetes prevention, care and treatment; management of urogynecological and pelvic pain; and pain management for individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease.

Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due April 28.  

Ready to learn more and apply?  Take these three steps to prepare:

  1. Contact the PCORnet® Front Door as soon as possible.  All applicants submitting to the BPS Category 3 PFA are required to contact the PCORnet® Front Door prior to submitting their LOI. The PCORnet® Front Door can advise on study feasibility and costs associated with using PCORnet, provide data to inform study design, offer best practices for stakeholder engagement, and more.
  2. Register for the April 9 PCORI Applicant Town Hall to learn more about this PFA and how to submit a responsive LOI and application.
  3. Check out this webinar for an overview of PCORnet and the specific requirements for the Category 3: PCORnet® Studies option in the BPS PFA. 

On April 1, PCORI will also release a PFA on  Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement.

This PFA seeks to fund studies that address high-impact methodological gaps in patient-centered CER and might lead to improvements in the strength and quality of evidence generated by CER studies. Applicants considering this PFA are encouraged to partner with PCORnet® Network Partners.

The preannouncement provides potential applicants additional time to identify collaborators, obtain patient and partner input and develop responsive, high-quality applications.

For the Cycle 2 2026 Methods PFA, PCORI has identified the following areas as program priorities:

  • Methods To Support the Use of Patient-Centered Measurement in Patient-Centered CER
  • Methods To Support the Use of Real-World Data (RWD) in Multi-Site Patient-Centered CER (formerly Methods to Support Data Research Networks)
  • Methods To Improve the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Patient-Centered CER
  • Methods To Improve Study Design in Patient-Centered CER

To learn more about this funding opportunity, attend the PCORI Applicant Town Hall on April 6, noon – 1 pm (ET).

Additional PFAs opening April 1 (with LOIs due April 28) include:

 

Title LOI Due Date Applicant Town Hall Date
Broad Pragmatic Studies (BPS) PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) April 28 April 9, 11:30 am – 1 pm (ET)
Learn more 

Category 3 webinar
Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement April 28 April 6, noon – 1 pm (ET)
Learn more
Addressing Sensory Health Needs Across the Lifespan April 28 April 7, noon – 1 pm (ET)
Learn more 

 
Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement April 28 April 8, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
Learn more 

Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to learn how PCORnet can support your patient-centered research.

New Resource Provides Insights on PCORnet® Clinical Research Network Site Capabilities

Posted on by Jodi Snare

A new resource that provides a snapshot of site capabilities for national-scale patient-centered research is now available. The PCORnet® Clinical Research Network Site Profiles can help researchers understand site capacity and resources including:

  • Population characteristics, such as types of patients, care settings, and location data
  • Current PCORnet® Study participation
  • Patient recruitment methods and institutional procedures
  • Data linkages

PCORnet® Clinical Research Networks (CRNs) are groups of healthcare institutions from across the U.S., from large academic health centers to community clinics, united by a commitment to speed patient-centered research.

The PCORnet® CRN Site Profiles can help inform collaboration and research studies from proposal development to implementation by providing a snapshot of the available populations and site capabilities.

The PCORnet® CRN Site Profiles help illustrate the power of PCORnet as a full-scale research infrastructure designed to make studies faster, easier, and more impactful.

This new tool is one of many resources developed to support researchers interested in leading patient-centered research studies. Other available resources include:

Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to learn how PCORnet can support your patient-centered research.