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HEALTH POLICY

If patients are the true north, patient-centeredness should guide research

‘Patient-centered’ research has traditionally meant that researchers and clinicians design trials for the benefit of patients. By contrast, patients today are central to study design and reporting outcomes, and new research agendas recognize that patients can point the way to research questions and how to address them.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge that the views expressed in this article are informed by their research funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (C.D.M.) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (C.D.M. and L.E.S.). The views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, its Board of Governors, or Methodology Committee. No statement should be construed as an official position of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Correspondence to C. Daniel Mullins.

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C.D.M. and L.E.S. declare that they each received a research contract from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

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Schanberg, L.E., Mullins, C.D. If patients are the true north, patient-centeredness should guide research. Nat Rev Rheumatol 15, 5–6 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-018-0129-y

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