Patient-Centered Care & Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR)

Generating real-world evidence to improve patient-centered care and health outcomes.

Patient-centered care is a health care approach that prioritizes patients’ needs and preferences in decisions about their health care. Unlike traditional approaches that prioritize diagnoses and protocols, this model acknowledges patients as partners with valuable insights about their own health. It operates through clear communication between providers and patients, respects patient autonomy in decision-making, and recognizes that effective health care must address what patients themselves identify as important. This approach doesn’t simply treat conditions—it responds to the unique needs of the whole person receiving care.

How Research Supports Patient-Centered Care

Patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) provides the evidence base that makes effective patient-centered care possible. PCOR prioritizes outcomes that patients themselves identify as important and actively involves patients and caregivers throughout the research process. By generating practical, real-world evidence, PCOR helps health care providers implement approaches that improve quality of care in ways that directly benefit patients’ lives.

See how our cross-discipline team can help you turn health care discoveries and insights into better practices for patients.

Visit the Center

Our Work in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

At NORC’s Health Implementation Science Center, we transform patient-centered outcomes research into practical, real-world health care improvements.

We collaborate with state, federal, and private partners on initiatives that strengthen the connection between evidence and practice.

Patient Engagement Expertise: We develop and evaluate strategies that meaningfully incorporate patient voices into research design, implementation, and dissemination.
Strategic Research Development: We create evaluation frameworks to guide investments in patient-centered outcomes research and build robust data infrastructure.
Knowledge Dissemination: We manage resource centers that provide technical assistance and collaborative services to researchers and practitioners implementing patient-centered approaches.

Diverse Stakeholder Collaboration: We bring together patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to ensure research reflects multiple perspectives.
Research-to-Practice Translation: We collect and analyze data through rigorous evaluation studies to help health care providers implement evidence-based, patient-centered care models.

Our work ensures that research directly addresses patients’ priorities and experiences, ultimately leading to health care that is more responsive, effective, and aligned with what matters most to patients.