The Primary Care Research Network (PCRN)
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Primary Care Research Network (PCRN) is a consortium of pediatric primary care practices focused on improving child health and family outcomes through high-quality research in primary care settings on common conditions and services in those settings.
Our Vision
To be the national leader in helping pediatricians and policy makers make informed decisions about the organization and provision of primary care services for children through research developed and implemented in partnership with general pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, scientists, policy makers, payers, patients and families and all others invested in improving child health.
Our research projects are developed and implemented together in partnership with key stakeholders invested in improving child health:
- General pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists.
- Basic, clinical and translational researchers.
- Public health experts and epidemiologists.
- Policy makers.
- Health economists and payers.
- Informaticists and statisticians.
- Patients and families.
This collaborative, transdisciplinary approach enables the PCRN to be a national leader in informing the organization and provision of primary care services for children.
PCRN Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is comprised of the Medical Director of the PCRN, the Project Manager, the Division Chief of Primary Care Pediatrics, the Medical Director from Nationwide Children’s School Health Services, the Medical Director of Partners For Kids, and leaders in research and clinical medicine at Nationwide Children‘s. The Executive Committee will meet quarterly to review applications to the PCRN.
PCRN Medical Director
The PCRN medical director is a clinician-scientist in the Primary Care Network. Leah Utset, MD, is the inaugural medical director.
PCRN Program Manager
The manager has day-to-day oversight of PCRN operations. Katie DiCostanzo is the inaugural manager.
Chief of the Division of Primary Care Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s
Alex Kemper, MD, MPH, MS, is a member of the Executive Committee.
PCRN Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is comprised of the executive committee, as well as provider, patient and family representatives. Selected studies will be reviewed by the Steering Committee.
Our Network
The PCRN includes:
Nationwide Children's Primary Care Network: The 14 Nationwide Children’s Division of Primary Care Pediatrics clinics across Columbus that provide care for more than 125,000 children and adolescents at more than 200,000 patient visits annually. Nearly all (90%) are enrolled in Medicaid.
Nationwide Children’s School Health Services: Nationwide Children’s Hospital School Health Services provides comprehensive primary care in 18 school-based health centers (SBHCs) and via two mobile care centers in central Ohio and in Richland and Knox counties. 20 providers are supported by a team of RNs, LPNs, MAs, social workers, school liaisons and administrators. The School Health Primary Care Team currently cares for 10,000 unique patients. The majority (69%) of patients seen in School Health have Medicaid.
Partners For Kids (PFK) network is the largest and oldest pediatric accountable care organization in the United States. It includes over 90 practices and more than 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists. They serve more than 470,000 children covered by four Medicaid Managed Care plans across 47 rural, suburban and urban counties in south central, southeastern and west central Ohio.
These clinics are uniquely positioned to be a “learning healthcare system.” They use the same electronic medical record (Epic), and many have tablets available for patient/family surveys during visits. Enrollment in Partners For Kids (PFK) facilitates claims data analysis, and hub clinics in each quadrant of the clinical network have additional space and clinical resources.
These features allow advanced research to directly evaluate new or currently recommended services, as well as general health services research.