Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management Faculty selected to participate in prestigious grant

Three MUSC researchers will be part of a multi-site study focusing on a heavily researched but undertreated problem: how to keep acute lower back pain from becoming chronic. Howard Evert, M.D., College of Medicine; David Morrisette, Ph.D., College of Health Professions Division of Physical Therapy; and Kit Simpson, DrPH, College of Health Professions Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management, were selected by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to participate in the national $14 million project; MUSC will receive $2.6 million for its part of the research. The PCORI Board voted to approve funding of the study entitled "Targeted Interventions to Prevent Chronic Low Back Pain in High Risk Patients: A Multi-Site Pragmatic RCT”. MUSC is one of five sites for this large pragmatic trial where primary care practices will be randomized to current practice or to intervention sites. The intervention uses an information systems-based protocol to identify patients at risk for chronic back pain combined with referral to patient-centered physical therapy. For complete story, visit the MUSC News Center:

http://www.musc.edu/pr/newscenter/2015/lower-back-pain.html