Topic for 2021: Expanding Health Care Delivery Using Non-Traditional Care Approaches

Applications have now closed.

Overview

The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the University of Pennsylvania Health System announce the inaugural LDI-Penn Medicine Research Laboratory. Developed in partnership between Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD (Executive Director, Penn LDI) and Kevin Mahoney, MBA (Chief Executive Officer, University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS)), the Research Lab is a unique partnership that invites the deep expertise of LDI-affiliated faculty to conduct research in Penn Medicine’s health system to ask and answer pressing questions about health care delivery. The goals of this strategic partnership are both to advance LDI’s mission of developing generalizable knowledge to improve health care delivery, and to generate actionable knowledge which guides Penn Medicine’s operational decisions towards ensuring that patients receive the best care.

To support this goal, the Research Lab solicits proposals for projects focused on the following priority area for 2021: Expanding Health Care Delivery Using Non-Traditional Care Approaches.

Health care is increasingly being delivered where people live, work, and play – outside of traditional health care settings such as hospitals and clinics. New approaches to care have been made possible by changes towards value-based payment models, advancements in digital tools (e.g., remote patient monitoring, wearables, and telemedicine), in at-home delivery of medications and medical supplies, and a health care workforce being trained to provide care outside of traditional settings.

However, many questions about how to best expand care using non-traditional care approaches, and its effect on quality, value, and equitable access remain unanswered. For example, increasing access to health care is important and ensures that patients receive high-quality, high-value care within a timeframe that reflects the patients’ clinical needs – the right care, at the right time, in the right place. But not all patients have adequate access to traditional and non-traditional care approaches, and access varies across important sociodemographic characteristics – including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, income, and education. Achieving equity is an important consideration as non-traditional approaches to care increase.

LDI and Penn Medicine are committed to understanding and advancing the capability of health systems to expand care delivery using non-traditional care approaches to achieve better care and outcomes.

Proposal Details

Projects should be of priority to Penn Medicine; should leverage existing Penn Medicine data; and can include observational analyses, testing or developing pilot interventions, and/or studying how best to implement evidence-based practices in these settings using methods from implementation science. All proposed projects will be required to include health equity as a specific outcome, including how equity will be measured or impacted. Successful proposals will articulate how knowledge gained from the project will help health systems in the US, particularly Penn Medicine, improve health care delivery across dimensions such as efficiency, costs, quality, access, and/or health outcomes.

We invite LDI Senior Fellows to propose ideas for 1-year, collaborative projects with Penn Medicine aimed at evaluating existing services, expanding programs, or develop new programs. The proposal must be sensitive to the accelerated speed at which decisions are made by health systems. The first set of projects will start January 2022 and must share findings to Penn Medicine executives and operational leaders by January 2023 to inform the decision-making timeline for the FY2024 (July 2023 to June 2024) budget.

The Joint Steering Committee, LDI, and Penn Medicine will be available to guide the direction of accepted projects, including connections to academic experts and operational partners within their purview. Data needs of projects can be facilitated by (but not limited to) de-identified data from Penn Medicine’s Operational Data Stores, supported by an LDI-assigned analyst who can obtain data for the purposes of this initiative. Penn LDI resources include assistance in translation and dissemination of completed research.

If you have an idea but are unsure whether your project is feasible within this framework or proposed timeline, email Krisda H. Chaiyachati, Director of the LDI-Penn Medicine Research Laboratory. For general questions or questions about the submission process, email Penn LDI.

Eligibility

Proposals must be led by an LDI Senior Fellow. University of Pennsylvania faculty, Penn Medicine staff without LDI affiliations, and LDI Associate Fellows are permitted to be co-investigators on proposals. 

Selection Criteria

LDI plans to fund up to two proposals. All proposals will be reviewed by the LDI-Penn Medicine Research Laboratory Joint Steering Committee.

Proposals will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Impact. The significance of the problem, opportunities for new insights into how non-traditional care approaches can be expanded and improve the care delivered by Penn Medicine.
• Investigators(s) and Team. The qualifications of the PI and the background and experience of the investigator team. Priority will be given to teams that have operational representation from Penn Medicine on the project.
• Methods. Methodological rigor and appropriateness of the scientific plan.
• Theme. Priority will be given to proposals focused on better understanding how to deliver care using non-traditional care approaches.
• Equity. Priority will be given to projects that include health equity as an outcome. A dedicated section explaining how health equity will be measured, how the project team will decide on these measures (e.g., the research literature, community engagement, etc.), how affected communities will be engaged, and the anticipated effects of the proposal on health equity will be required.
• Timeline. Priority will be given to proposals that will provide insights to Penn Medicine operational leaders’ planning for Fiscal Year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024).
• Future Potential. The likelihood of projects leading to new initiatives or changes in the delivery of care for Penn Medicine and plans for scaling. Intervention-based studies must articulate the financial sustainability of proposed strategies, including (but not limited to) how the proposal would be financially supported once scaled.

Other Requirements

• Awarded projects are expected to start in January 2022.  
• After notice of award and as a condition of funding, PIs must submit a letter to LDI from Penn’s IRB indicating approval or exemption.
• All awardees will be required to submit and present two (2) reports (see below) to members of the Research Laboratory’s Joint Steering Committee. The Final Report and presentation will include both the Joint Steering Committee and Penn Medicine’s executive leadership team.
  • Interim Report (Due: July 1, 2022)
  • Final Report (Due: January 1, 2023)
• Investigators must acknowledge the support of LDI and Penn Medicine on all publications and other products of the program.  
• Investigators may be asked to present their results at an LDI seminar and to serve as a reviewer of future proposals to LDI or the Research Lab.

How to Apply

LDI Senior Fellows should complete the online application form, which includes:

• Project Abstract (not to exceed 250 words)
• Project Description (up to five pages, single-spaced, 11-point font minimum, 0.5-inch margins top, bottom, left, right for all pages) which contains the following sections and suggested size:
  • Aims and Significance (1 page)
  • Scalability (0.5 page)
  • Equity Plan and Impact (0.5 page)
  • Research Plan and Methodology (3 pages)
    • Should describe data to be used or how the data will be collected; how key variables will be measured; and an analysis plan.
• Project Budget
  • ​Proposals must include an itemized budget of up to $65,000.
  • An accompanying budget justification should clearly describe and justify the specific items to be funded by the grant.
  • The budget may include the time of an LDI-dedicated analyst with experience pulling data from Penn Medicine’s data store and warehouse. Please contact Traci Chupik for further details about this analyst’s cost structure.
  • The budget may include project salaries and benefits (e.g., faculty or staff), consultant fees, data management, supplies, and other direct expenses. Budgets may not include travel to meetings to present work, equipment, or indirect costs.
• Project Timeline and Milestones
  • Milestones should be identified along the 1-year timeline. Milestones should be well described, quantifiable, and scientifically justified benchmarks at critical junctures. This section may also include alternative strategies should any component efforts fail to perform as expected.
• Principal Investigator’s Biosketch with selected relevant publications, current research support, and research support received during the past three years (follow current NIH biosketch guidelines).
• Other Pending or Funded Grant Proposals for the same or similar projects.
• Co-Investigators’ abbreviated Biosketch(es) with selected relevant publications (not to exceed 2 pages).
• Appendices, limited to essential information that is directly relevant to the proposal, such as a pilot survey form or a Penn Medicine administrator or operational lead’s support letter.