Agency for healthcare research and quality

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance

ISSN: 0952-6862

Article publication date: 1 July 2001

368

Keywords

Citation

(2001), "Agency for healthcare research and quality", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 14 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2001.06214dag.001

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited


Agency for healthcare research and quality

Agency for healthcare research and qualityhttp://www.ahcpr.gov/Keywords: Healthcare, Research, Quality management, Partnering, USA

This is the website of the American Agency for Healthcare Research and Policy (AHRQ). Formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the name was changed by the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of December 1999. The Act positions the Agency as a "science partner," working collaboratively with the public and private sectors to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

AHRQ is a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and is the lead agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of healthcare, reduce its cost, improve patient safety, decrease medical errors and broaden access to essential services. It sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on healthcare outcomes; quality; and cost, use and access. The information helps healthcare decision makers (patients and clinicians, health system leaders and policymakers) make decisions that are more informed and improve the quality of healthcare services. The Agency also supports the development of evidence reports through 12 Evidence-based Practice Centres and the dissemination of evidence-based guidelines through its National Guideline Clearinghouse. It does not, however, mandate guidelines or standards for measuring quality.

The Agency identifies its customers as clinical decision makers, health care system decision makers and public policy decision makers. Its strategic goals, as follows, reflect the needs of these customers:

  • Support improvements in health outcomes. This research examines the end results of the structure and processes of health care on the health and well-being of patients and populations. A unique characteristic of this research is the incorporation of the patient's perspective in the assessment of effectiveness.

  • Strengthen quality measurement and improvement. Achieving this goal requires developing and testing quality measures and investigating the best ways to collect, compare and communicate these data so they are useful to decision makers.

  • Identify strategies that improve access, foster appropriate use and reduce unnecessary expenditures. The Agency supports studies of access, healthcare utilisation and expenditures to identify whether particular approaches to health-care delivery and payment alter behaviours in ways that promote access and/or economise on health- care resource use.

This is a very comprehensive site. As well as access to information about the Agency itself, its home page offers access to:

  • Clinical Information: Evidence-based Practice; Outcomes and Effectiveness; Technology Assessment; Preventive Services; Clinical Practice Guidelines; National Guidelines Clearing House.

  • Consumers and Patients: Health Conditions/Diseases; Health Plans; Prescriptions; Prevention and Wellness; Quality of Care; Quit Smoking; Surgery; and a list of consumer materials in Spanish.

  • Funding Opportunities: Overview; Grant Announcements; Policy Notices ; Contract Solicitations; Research Training.

  • Data and Surveys: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey; Healthcare Cost and Utilisation Project; Interactive Tool for Hospital Statistics; HIV and AIDS Costs and Use; Healthcare Informatics.

  • Child Health.

  • Women's Health.

  • Minority Health.

  • Research Findings: Research Activities: Online Newsletter; Translating Research Into Practice: Fact Sheets; Primary Care; Healthcare Costs; Elderly Healthcare; Managed Care; Markets; Mental Health; Long-Term Care; Methods; Rural Health.

  • Quality Assessment: Computerised Needs-Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System; Consumer Assessment of Health Plans; Measuring Healthcare Quality Studies and Projects; Medical Errors and Patient Safety; Quality Information and Improvement; Quality Interagency Co-ordination Task Force.

Each of these in turn gives access to a wide variety of materials. For example, following the Measuring Healthcare Quality Studies link provides further links to reports on research funded by AHRQ, such as the development of a model consumer-oriented health plan scorecard by the Oregon Consumer Scorecard Consortium, designed to aid private and public organisations and States in developing information to help consumers choose health plans that best meet their individual needs and preferences. It also provides links to a series of scientific papers funded by AHCPR to support the performance measurement efforts of the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT), and Healthcare Cost and Utilisation Project Quality Indicators. Software for these can also be downloaded.

The Agency also has a User Liaison Programme (ULP) which aims to disseminate health services research findings in easily understandable and usable formats through interactive workshops and technical assistance for policymakers and other health services research users. Access to information about this is provided by following the link to State and Local Policymakers. As well as providing information about the programme, this gives access to online distance learning resources, currently the Child Health Toolbox, providing concepts, tips and tools for evaluating Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Title V and other healthcare service programmes for children, and an online learning programme: SCHIP: Implementing Effective Programmes and Understanding Their Impacts. Another useful resource from the ULP page is access to information about two teleconferences: How Safe Is Our Health Care System? What Can States Do to Improve Patient Safety and Reduce Medical Errors? and Prescription Drug Coverage: Rising Expenditures, Appropriate Use, and Program Strategies. There were three sessions for each of these and audio files are provided for each of them and for the’Prescription Drug teleconference there is also a written summary of the teleconference and a workshop on the same subject.

It is not always immediately obvious what the terminology means, and hence for those not familiar with it, navigation around the site by topic is not easy. However, the links work quickly and it is easy to browse randomly. The site also offers a useful browser function that allows the user to choose from a list of subject areas of interest, arranged in alphabetical order, and a quick menu option that provides an alphabetic list of the main topic areas.

Altogether, this is an interesting site, of particular relevance to researchers, which is well designed and, despite the problem of terminology, fairly easy to use. For those with an interest in what is happening in the USA with respect to quality, it is well worth a visit.

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