Family physician researchers will strive to use Internet technology to connect U.S. primary care physicians, thanks to a three-year, $3 million grant from the NIH. The project to build the Electronic Primary Care Research Network, EPCRN, is being undertaken by the Federation of Practice-Based Research Networks in cooperation with AAFP's Center for Health Information Technology and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
"We expect this to accelerate the pace of discovery and speed the application of knowledge to the development of new prevention strategies, diagnostics and treatments," said federation chair Kevin Peterson, M.D., M.P.H., professor of family medicine at the university and member of the AAFP Commission on Clinical Policies and Research.
The EPCRN will give researchers access to potential study subjects throughout the country and establish a connection that will speed the application of research findings into communities that may not have direct access to research institutions.
The first step of the project is construction of an electronic infrastructure for the NIH using the next generation of Internet technology and potentially connecting every primary care physician in the country.
The grant was awarded as part of the NIH's "roadmap" program, a series of initiatives to identify major opportunities and gaps in medical research.
The work of the grant will address the important goal of translating research to practice, said Peterson.
"Primary care providers deliver the majority of the patient care in this country," he said. "It is essential that they are connected to bridge the gap between research and practice."
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