Epidemic Answers’ Documenting Hope Project is looking to collaborate with a licensed physician in innovative pediatric research study in Northern VA
The Documenting Hope FLIGHT™ Study (Facilitated Longitudinal Intensive Investigation of Genuine Health Transformation WIRB Protocol # 20200327)
FLIGHT™ is a multi-year research study that investigates whether a “whole child” model of care inspired by community-based practices results in better outcomes for children with complex chronic and developmental conditions. This is, to our knowledge, the first prospective study to rigorously document and analyze such an approach. It has both scientific and educational objectives. This study will be documented on film.
Opportunity: Local Licensed Medical Practitioner (LLP)
Documenting Hope’s FLIGHT Study is an innovative pediatric research study that will observe and document a collaborative clinical process aimed at reducing or eliminating symptoms of chronic illness. We are seeking a licensed physician with training and clinical experience in pediatrics to collaborate with a local team of integrative practitioners. The LLP would provide clinical care to a small number of pediatric study participants through his or her own practice. This practitioner will also be asked to collaborate and consult with other local treating practitioners in different disciplines about each of the pediatric study participants. At all times, the LLP will exercise his or her own professional medical judgment in providing care to the study participants and such medical judgment will not be controlled or influenced.
The LLP will be regularly in touch with a coordinating research team as part of a highly structured and facilitated clinical process that does not interfere with the LLP’s independent medical judgment. Each child will participate in the study for 18 months, during which time the participant will be a patient of the LLP’s practice. The LLP will operate within their normal scope of practice and will also be asked to complete study-specific forms, attend study team meetings, and participate in ongoing online communications about each child. The recordings of meetings and records of virtual discussions will be part of the study data and the LLP may be interviewed on film, if such recording activity has been authorized by the child participant’s legal guardian.
A candidate eligible for to serve as the LLP must be:
- A practicing physician with extensive pediatric clinical experience in chronic inflammatory, neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders
- Strongly interested in environmental health
- Interested in participating in practice-related research
- Collaborative and interested in working with colleagues across a number of different health disciplines and practices
- Committed to resourcefully improving pediatric outcomes
- Interested in the application of new technologies to facilitate collaborative care
The LLP is part of a collegial and collaborative care team that includes: a team of local practitioners (such as a dietitian, a functional dentist, optometrist and more) and will interact with the Study’s Principal Investigator, Medical Director, Program Director and a local health coach. The team will participate in seven structured case reviews for each child over the course of 18 months and perform ongoing monitoring of care.
In the course of each child’s care, the LLP, in the exercise of his or her own medical judgment, will:
- Review medical and health history for each participant, with the aid of a report generated from the child’s CHIRP™ Survey.
- Conduct a comprehensive baseline pediatric exam and complete the study’s associated structured documentation
- With support from research study staff, participate in the implementation of an IRB-approved set of body specimen analyses that include both standard (Quest/Lab Corp) and boutique (urine, stool, hair, saliva) labs.
- Discuss a comprehensive (and potentially multi-modality) set of assessment findings with colleagues and study team members as part of a structured intervention planning process
- Review the risks and benefits of any proposed intervention plan
- Conduct routine in-person clinical visit with each child participant a minimum of quarterly for the duration of their participation in the study
- Participate in ongoing collaborative dialogue about each child participant in a secure, cloud-based patient dashboard; this dialogue will be recorded and transcribed to the extent authorized by the child participant’s legal guardian.
- Participate in occassional virtual clinical team meetings
- Contribute expert analysis, observations, and reflections to enhance the wellbeing of each child participant and optimize the clinical process throughout the study.
- Participate in reflection on the efficacy and efficiency of a structured team approach to care derived from a community-based model observed to improve health outcomes for children.
Experience, Skills and Knowledge Base
- Must be a fully licensed, board certified and insured physician: MD or DO in the state of Virginia.
- Orientation towards a systems or whole-child approach
- Familiarity with integrative, bioregulatory and/or functional medicine
- Conversant with emerging approaches to children’s health/well-being
- Conversant with traditional and ancient medical/health perspectives or disciplines
- Pediatric training and clinical experience greater than 10 years
- Developmental training and/or extensive experience in this area
- Extensive knowledge of nutrition and environmental health
- Excellent communications skills
Other Considerations
Candidate must be willing to be interviewed on film and have aspects of clinical work filmed when authorized by the legal guardians of the pediatric study participants.
Interested candidates, please send a cover letter and resume to flight@documentinghope.com