Center for Transformation of Internal Medicine (CENTRI)

Mission

The Center for the Transformation of Internal Medicine (CENTRI) in the Division of General Internal Medicine (DGIM) was established in 2021 by a transformative gift to advance the care of every patient, promote the career satisfaction of general internists, and advance diversity of the work force in primary care. CENTRI is designed to evaluate innovative clinical or educational programs in primary care, with a particular focus on projects that address social determinants of health, vulnerable populations, or virtual care and digital health. Its goal is to expand research support for the DGIM educators and innovators, who do not have formal research training, to help them develop better evidence to support clinical practice and to support the work of researchers to develop evidence to inform practice.

Four Guiding Pillars of Innovation

CENTRI is focused on four pillars of innovation: care frontiers, patient-centered care, data-driven care, and care innovation.

Faculty & Staff

Peter L. Gross, MD, Chair in Primary Care
Director of Research and Research Education, Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Daniel Horn, MD
Director of Population Health and Quality, Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Medical Director, Massachusetts General Physicians Organization
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Suzanne Brodney, PhD
Senior Program Manager, Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

Jessica Pham, MHA, SHRM-CP
Grant Administrator, Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

Veronica Boratyn
Clinical Research Coordinator II, Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

Current CENTRI Projects

Primary Care Equity Initiative

Team Members: Andrew Hwang, MD, MPH; Sarah Matathia, MD, MPH; Michael Barry, MD; Vanessa Adjei; Aisha James, MD, MEd; Victoria Nixon; Yuchiao Chang PhD;  Meghan Rieu-Werden 
Years: 2021 – 2023

As part of the Mass General Brigham United Against Racism (UAR) initiative, primary care launched a practice-level equity dashboard that displays ambulatory quality outcome metrics stratified by race and language. Five practices were assigned to the UAR initiative, and 10 practices are serving as controls. All practices have equity huddles led by population health coordinators, but the five UAR practices also have community health workers who can outreach to patients to provide additional hypertension support. We used a stepped-wedge design to randomize the timing of when physicians and their patients would receive the intervention. This approach was chosen so that the resources would be distributed equitably. Data collection will be completed in April 2023.

Virtual Group Visits

Team Members: Jacob Mirsky, MD;  Anne Thorndike, MD, MPH
Years: 2021-2022

Virtual Group Visits (VGV) support patients in making lifestyle behavior changes, and it holds promise as a primary care delivery tool for preventing and managing chronic diseases. This project is evaluating VGV invitees’ satisfaction with and preferences for VGVs at the Mass General Revere HealthCare Center. Patients who attended a visit during the prior year were surveyed and asked for their input. Data collection and analysis are complete, and a manuscript will be submitted in Fall 2022.

Flex Nutrition Services

Team Members: Sarah Matathia, MD, MPH; Anne Thorndike, MD, MPH
Years: 2022-2023

As part of the Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Flexible Services Program, members with a health needs-based criteria who are experiencing food insecurity can receive nutritional support through the Flex Nutrition Program. We will randomize eligible members into three cohorts. Cohort A will receive high intensity proactive outreach via phone, Cohort B will receive low-intensity outreach via letter, and Cohort C will receive usual care with no proactive outreach. We seek to understand if proactive outreach to eligible patients increases enrollment into and utilization of the Medicaid ACO Flex Nutrition Program.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if CENTRI is the right opportunity for me?

This opportunity is right for you if you are:

• Interested in research and evaluation but need some extra support to develop your idea
• Motivated to take a lead role in the research project and welcome the opportunity to present your results at a scientific meeting and write up your results for publication
• Feeling you are at a time in your career when you want to try something new

Does the project have to focus on primary care?

All projects funded by CENTRI must have a focus within primary care delivery.

Can I apply if I’ve never done research?

Prior research experience is not required. A central initiative of CENTRI is to expand research support for DGIM educators and innovators, who do not have formal research training to help them develop better evidence to support clinical practice.

Please note, all applicants must be CITI certified prior to the award/start of the proposed project.

What types of projects do you fund?

A core pillar of the CENTRI program is to promote the delivery of patient-centered primary care by supporting the evaluation of care innovation. Prior CENTRI supported projects include a practice-level equity dashboard study, virtual group visit patient satisfaction and preferences study, and a flex nutrition program outreach study.

What type of assistance do you offer?

The program is designed to evaluate interesting clinical or educational innovations. CENTRI can provide support for project management, data collection, and data analysis. Projects should be very focused and have a timeline of 12 months or less.

When are applications due?

The call for proposal applications is announced in January or February each year. Of note, CENTRI applications are continuously open to provide timely support of innovative research ideas. Please contact Jessica Pham at jpham4@partners.org to learn more about the application process and/or request an application.

What does the application include?

The CENTRI Proposal Application form includes:

• A paragraph overview of the goals, design and scientific hypothesis to be tested/evaluated
• A paragraph explanation of how support from CENTRI would influence the quality of care that you deliver
• The expertise provided by the application team
• The expertise requested from CENTRI

Do you fund salary?

Salary support is not available through CENTRI.

Who do I contact if I have an idea or want to learn more?

To learn more about CENTRI or submit an idea for a CENTRI proposal, please contact Jessica Pham (jpham4@partners.org).