A recently completed PCORI-funded Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) capacity-building project, led by Drs. Kevin High and Kristie Foley in the Southeast, is positioning Advocate Health to accelerate the uptake of evidence-based practices across its health system—helping to close the persistent gap between research findings and their adoption in routine care. As part of PCORI’s national HSII, Advocate Health is one of more than 40 health systems working to advance the implementation of practice-changing evidence at scale.
The initiative established a formal governance and decision-making structure—the Academic Learning Health System Executive Committee—to vet, prioritize, and support practice change efforts aligned with our learning health system priorities. It also developed a health system feasibility data dashboard to guide decision-making. The newly formed Health Systems Science Unit – one of WFUSM’s Translational Engines – is an outgrowth of the infrastructure established through the PCORI HSII initiative.
Since the capacity building grant launched, clinical and research leaders across the enterprise have successfully competed for five PCORI HSII projects – three in the Southeast and two in the Midwest. Projects focus on implementing evidence-based care in childhood antibiotic prescribing, patient reported outcomes in cancer, and telepsychiatry for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder. Drs. Jennifer Sullivan and Kevin High serve as Co Project Leaders for the overall HSII initiative.
Faculty in the Department of Implementation Science – Cara Janusz, Kathy Lancaster, Roger Vilardaga, Dirk Davis, and Kristie Foley – have played critical roles in implementation evaluation for these initiatives. The initial capacity building project brought together leaders across Atrium Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine whose expertise in advancing implementation science and academic learning health systems supports ongoing efforts to translate research into practice. Read more about the Atrium Health HSII Capacity Building Project here.