APIRE Practice Research Network: accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Research
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Established in 1993, the Practice Research Network (PRN) aimed to connect psychiatric science with clinical practice.
• The PRN expanded its scope from a national network of psychiatrists to conducting large-scale studies.
• It utilizes randomly selected psychiatrist samples from the AMA Physician Masterfile for research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of major Practice Research Network (PRN) initiatives.
• To assess the impact of PRN studies on psychiatric practice and policy.
• To describe benefits for clinicians participating in PRN research and strategies for overcoming challenges.

Main Methods:

• Conducting large-scale clinical and policy research studies.
• Utilizing randomly selected psychiatrist samples from the AMA Physician Masterfile.
• Involving clinicians in the development and execution of research.

Main Results:

• PRN initiatives have successfully broadened the generalizability of psychiatric research findings.
• Clinician involvement in PRN research has been shown to be beneficial.
• Strategies have been developed to address challenges in conducting practice-based research.

Conclusions:

• The Practice Research Network (PRN) effectively bridges the gap between psychiatric research and clinical application.
• PRN studies contribute significantly to the evidence base and inform psychiatric practice and policy.
• The network's evolution demonstrates a successful model for practice-based research in psychiatry.