Contact: Will Sansom, 210-567-2579

Mitch Finnie, M.D., of Shavano Family Practice, PA, in San Antonio listens to the breathing of patient Mihilly Martinez. Dr. Finnie participates in STARNet, the South Texas Ambulatory Research Network.
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SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 7, 2011) — South Texas health care clinicians who are pursuing research based on observations in their practices will convene Saturday, Oct. 22, for the Third Annual Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) Convocation. The event, called “Discovering the Power and Potential of Translational Research,” is at the La Quinta Horizon Hill Conference Center, 4431 Horizon Hill Blvd.

Lloyd Van Winkle, M.D., family physician in Castroville, has attended previous PBRN convocations. “This is a great conference where I was able to network with other clinicians and investigators, explore research findings and learn how I can be an active participant in developing the research agenda for South Texas,” he said.

The convocation is funded through the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS) at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The IIMS houses the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), a major National Institutes of Health grant to the Health Science Center and 11 South Texas partners. One of the key functions of the CTSA is community engagement, in which academic health centers work with communities to help solve challenges.

Handshake with the community
“Practice-based research networks are an essential component of community engagement,” said Robert Ferrer, M.D., faculty physician with UT Medicine San Antonio and director of community engagement for the CTSA. “This is the handshake between the Health Science Center and the community that says, ‘We are in this together.’” UT Medicine San Antonio is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at the Health Science Center.

Community engagement includes outreach to community practitioners. “They are looking for strategies that work for complex patient populations in the real world,” Dr. Ferrer said. “Developing those strategies in networks makes it more likely that the strategies represent ‘practice-based evidence.’”

New networks developed
Health Science Center-linked PBRNs range in age from 2 to 29 years. Since 2008 the CTSA has enabled several new ones to begin, including PBRNs in psychiatry, veterans mental health and dentistry. Another newcomer is the Improvement Science Research Network headed by Kathleen Stevens, Ed.D., M.S., RN, ANEF, FAAN, of the Health Science Center School of Nursing. It is a national network to study quality improvement in hospitals.

Through CTSA funding, the Health Science Center is strengthening the primary care networks: STARNet (South Texas Ambulatory Research Network); RRNet (Residency Research Network); and PRENSA (Primary Care Research Network of South Antonio). RRNet is a statewide research network for clinicians in residencies.

Research publications
The older networks have interesting, recent research publications. In one study, abused women used an automated system daily by phone to report violence in their relationships. This seemed to move the women closer to taking action to end the domestic violence, PRENSA clinicians found.

Other studies investigated diabetes, skin infections, health information technologies and a variety of topics. More than 25 research posters at the PBRN Convocation will show completed or ongoing translational research projects that emphasize outcomes improving patient care.

Community health care workers and other interested professionals are encouraged to attend the convocation to meet Health Science Center faculty and students and network practitioners, and even explore potential collaborations.

Tapping in
“Practitioners who report trends in their practices can tap into a considerable pool of research expertise and tools,” said IIMS Director Robert Clark, M.D., assistant vice president for clinical research. “Through these networks many are quantifying what they are seeing, and they are benefiting not only their own patients but all patients.”

The goal of the IIMS is to reduce barriers to research and accelerate the translation of knowledge into improved health care. IIMS partners are the Health Science Center, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, San Antonio Military Medical Center, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, University Health System, The University of Texas at San Antonio, UT School of Public Health Regional Campus in San Antonio, UT Brownsville, UT-Pan American, and UT College of Pharmacy.

Invited speaker
The keynote presenter is Michael F. Dulin, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. The main focus of Dr. Dulin’s research is increasing access to primary care services for Hispanic immigrants in order to positively impact community health. He is using key principles of community-based participatory research to achieve this goal.

Up to eight continuing medical education credits are available. Community clinicians, academic investigators, medical students and health professionals, along with interested patients, are invited to attend.

For more information about the PBRN Convocation, please contact Holly Hayes, M.P.H., at 210-567-7863 or hayesh@uthscsa.edu. Early registration is encouraged but not required.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $228 million in fiscal year 2010. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.