Inova Schar Cancer awarded funding to implement improved symptom monitoring for patients undergoing cancer treatment

Fairfax, VA – Inova Schar Cancer has been approved for a funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to implement electronic monitoring of patients’ self-reported symptoms during cancer treatment. Led by John Deeken, MD, President of Inova Schar Cancer, this project will expand the use of electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs), enabling patients to report symptoms in real time and allowing care teams to respond more quickly and effectively.

Patients undergoing cancer treatment often experience distressing symptoms such as fatigue, pain and nausea. Effectively managing these symptoms, whether related to the disease or its treatment, is a key component of high-quality cancer care. Improved symptom monitoring can enhance patients’ wellbeing, reduce hospital visits and support better adherence to treatment.

“At Inova Schar Cancer, we are focused on delivering care that is truly responsive to what patients are experiencing every day,” said Dr. Deeken. “This funding allows us to expand the use of real-time symptom reporting so we can intervene earlier, improve quality of life, and ensure patients remain supported and on track throughout their treatment.”

This project will implement findings from PCORI-funded patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) 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.

Inova Schar Cancer is part of PCORI’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII), an effort to ensure patients benefit from proven research sooner by accelerating how quickly new evidence is adopted in real-world care.

“This PCORI funding award will support Inova Schar Cancer in meaningful improvements in symptoms and health-related quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatment,” said PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., MPH. “This project exemplifies PCORI’s commitment to make the results of patient-centered CER more accessible and usable in real-world settings, helping patients, caregivers and the broader health care community make better-informed health care decisions and improve outcomes. We look forward to following the project’s progress.” 

This funding award to Inova Schar Cancer has been approved pending completion of PCORI’s business and programmatic review and issuance of a formal award contract.

PCORI is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fund patient-centered CER designed to provide patients and those who care for them with evidence to make better-informed health care decisions.

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We are Inova, Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider. With expertise and compassion, we partner with our patients to help them stay healthy. We treat illness, heal injury and look at a patient’s whole health to help them flourish. Through our expansive network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, emergency and urgent care centers, and outpatient services, Inova provides care for more than 1 million unique patients every year. Total patient visits exceed 4 million annually, demonstrating our ability to deliver the best clinical care and ensuring a seamless experience for all who rely on us for their healthcare needs.

Consistently ranked and recognized as a national healthcare leader in safety, quality and patient experience, Inova’s world-class care is made possible by the strength and breadth of our network, our 26,000 team members, our technology and our innovation. In 2025, Inova was named the Health System of the Year by Press Ganey, a national leader in healthcare experience, recognizing our excellence in patient care, team member engagement, and commitment to continuous improvement.

Inova is home to Northern Virginia’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and provides high-quality healthcare to each person in every community we are privileged to serve – regardless of ability to pay – every day of their life. More information about Inova can be found at Inova.org.