Mercy Awarded Funding to Expand AI-driven Smart-Texting Program

ST. LOUIS, April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercy has been approved for a four-year funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) through its Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) to expand Mercy's successful AI-driven, electronic patient-reported monitoring platform in select cancer patients to all those ages 18 and up undergoing chemotherapy.

In addition to expanding access to a broader age group, Mercy's award-winning Chen Chemotherapy Model will be enhanced to include more diagnoses to go beyond symptoms and include three additional areas that impact health and well-being – physical function, behavioral health and health-related social needs. It will also expand the text-based model to incorporate automated phone system and/or MyMercy messages for patients who do not respond to texting.

"I know Mercy's cancer patients will be thrilled to learn of the program expansion, though it will take time to build," said Dr. Jay Carlson, Mercy oncology medical director, Mercy Research clinical chair and co-principal investigator for the project. "There are many behind-the-scenes technology builds that we will need to complete before we can implement this exciting expansion."

This project will implement findings from a PCORI-funded patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness study demonstrating improved symptom control, physical function and health-related quality of life among patients who completed electronic patient-reported outcome surveys compared with those who received usual care. The expanded program is expected to be available to patients in October 2026.

"With this funding award, Mercy is able to bring innovation to the patients we serve much more quickly than through traditional methods for implementing research findings," said JoAnne Levy, Mercy Research vice president. "We continue to build on the success of each PCORI project implementation and look forward to continuing to deliver even more value to Mercy patients in the future."

The project's other co-principal investigator is Ursula Wright, Mercy chief clinical excellence officer and vice president of care transitions, who also serves as the project lead along with Dr. John Mohart, Mercy chief operating officer.

In October 2024, Mercy was awarded funding through PCORI's HSII to launch the Mercy Intensive Lifestyle Treatment for Weight Loss program. With development well underway, this program is scheduled to be available to patients in January 2026.

Mercy has been part of PCORI's Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) since February 2023 following a PCORI funding opportunity that sought HSII participants to promote evidence-based practice based on findings generated from PCORI-funded, patient-centered clinical effectiveness research (CER). The HSII, with 42 health systems participating, aims to reduce the estimated 17-year gap between evidence publication and clinical application. The initiative recognizes that health systems' practical experience and real-world insights are crucial for sustainable, large-scale implementation of practice-changing research findings in clinical care. 

PCORI is an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress with a mission to fund patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research that provides patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information they need to make better-informed health and health care decisions.

This funding award has been approved pending completion of PCORI's business and programmatic review and issuance of a formal award contract.

Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2023 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.

SOURCE Mercy