PPRNet- Practice Partner Research Network

Practice Partner Research Network is the first practice-based research network facilitating collaborative research among physicians who use Practice Partner, Medisoft Clinical, and Lytec MD.

PPRNet is a practice-based learning and research organization designed to improve health care. It was established in 1995 a a collaborative effort between the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Practice Partner, and participating practices.

PPRNet currently has 159 physician practices, representing over 850 health care providers, and apporximately 1.8 million patients located in 41 states. The members consist of 73% family medicine physicians, 21% internal medicine physicians and 6% other practice specialties. Compared to other practice-based research networks, this is unique in that all of its members use Practice Partner's EMR system (Practice Partner,  Medisoft Clinical or Lytec MD)  to capture patient infomation.

PPRNet aims to pool data from primary care practices all over the country for the purpose of quality improvement and research. They also strive to help physicians translate research into practice. This research network offers its members quarterly Practice Level Performance Reports to aid in practice quality improvement initiatives. It also encourages member to participate in quality improvement projects, attend network meetings (and earn CME credits), and author or co-author peer review papers. Membership is free. By joining PPRNet physicians demonstrate a genuine interest in the well being of their patients and take a proactive role in assuring that every patient receives the highest quality care for any health condition.

Prior and current projects include improving cardiovascular disease outcomes, colorectal cancer screening, medication safety, and alcohol screening. The Practice Partner Research Network has also published over 48 peer review articles.

Dr Janet Mullins explains why she transitioned to an Electronic Medical Record- and then she gives a couple of reasons of why she chose Practice Partner. One of her top reasons for choosing this EMR was the research network- PPRNet. The unique opportunity to participate in research while she is practicing medicine is one of her favorite things about the software.

To join the Practice Partner Research network visit www.musc.edu/PPRNet