The National Institutes of Health (...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a three-year, $3 million grant to family physician researchers attempting to use the Internet to associate primary care physicians in the United States. The Electronic Primary Care Research Network (EPCRN) is being bring to maturityed by the Federation of Practice Based Research Networks in cooperation with the American Academy of Family Physicians' (AAFP) Center for Health Information Technology and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The EPCRN will give researchers access to potential investigation participants throughout the country and establish a connection that will spe the application of research findings into communities that may not have direct access to research institutions. The initial part of the intend is to construct an electronic infrastructure for the NIH using Internet technology, which has the potential to communicate every primary care physician in the geographical division The grant was awarded as part of the NIH's roadmap program, which is a series of initiatives to identify major opportunities and gaps in medical research. According to federation chair Kevin Peterson MD MPH a member of the AAFP Commission in succession Clinical Policies and Research, the grant currency will be used to address translating research to practice.

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