Hospitals

Research institute’s new contest brings the patient voice into scientific research labs

How in tune are medical researchers with the patients who will eventually use the products, […]

How in tune are medical researchers with the patients who will eventually use the products, services and methods they develop?

Healthcare research powerhouse Regenstrief Institute says consumers’ voices are typically underrepresented in scientific research, and it wants to shore up that communication gap.

With the inaugural People’s Choice for Healthcare Delivery Contest, the institute is asking patients to help its researchers make sure they’re asking the right questions about how to improve healthcare. The contest seeks innovative ideas about medical evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care that can improve quality and cost-effectiveness, be implemented within five years and have a measurable impact. It wants those ideas from the consumers who actually experience healthcare delivery.

“We are looking for fresh ideas that we can turn into research hypotheses, and we hope for a flood of novel ideas from patient-consumers who are sitting in waiting rooms across America thinking, ‘Couldn’t this be better if …,'” said Lori Losee, center manager for the Regenstrief Institute Center for Health Services Research, in a statement.

The grand prize, selected by a panel of medical and community-based researchers, will include $1,000 cash and a trip to Indianapolis to meet with researchers in exchange for giving Regenstrief the right to conduct the research and potentially publish the findings of the idea.

The contest runs through Jan. 15.

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