Cardiologist receives $7M for 5-year study to boost care for heart failure patients

Larry Allen, MD, a cardiologist with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has received $7 million in funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to investigate the use of electronic resources among heart failure patients.

The study is expected to last five years and include a total of five health systems. It could enroll as many as 2,000 patients.

While $2.5 million will go to the University of Colorado, $2.5 million will go to the four other health systems: Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut, Northwestern Medicine in Illinois, University of Utah Health and Sutter Health in California. The final $2 million will help fund the actual development and structure of the study.

“Heart failure is one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States, especially among older people,” Allen said in a prepared statement announcing the news. “It’s a significant problem. It’s associated with many symptoms, like shortness of breath and a lot of fatigue. It’s the most common cause of hospitalization among Medicare beneficiaries.”