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The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced on September 29 its new Effective Health Care Program to help clinicians and patients determine which medical treatments work best for certain conditions.

Quality Improvement Monitor, October 13, 2005

The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced on September 29 its new Effective Health Care Program to help clinicians and patients determine which medical treatments work best for certain conditions.

Thirteen new research centers, as well as a center for communicating findings, were announced as part of the three-part program.

The $15 million program will support the development of new scientific information through research on the outcomes of healthcare services and therapies. The program will review and synthesize unpublished and published scientific studies and identify important issues where existing scientific evidence is insufficient.

The new program includes three components:

  • Comparative effectiveness eeports, which builds on the existing network of 13 Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs). The EPCs will focus on comparing the effectiveness of different treatments and identifying gaps in knowledge where new treatments are needed.
  • Network of research centers. A new network of 13 Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness research centers (referred to as DEcIDE) will carry out accelerated studies, including research aimed at filling knowledge gaps about treatment effectiveness. Operating under strict procedures to guarantee privacy and security, DEcIDE centers will use de-identified data available through insurers, health plans, and other partner organizations to answer questions about the use, benefits, and risks of medications and other therapies.
  • Making findings clear for different audiences. A new Clinical Decisions and Communications Science Center, to be called the Eisenberg Center in honor of the late AHRQ director John M. Eisenberg, will be created. The center will be aimed at better communicating findings to a variety of audiences, including consumers, clinicians, payers, and healthcare policy makers. The center will translate findings in ways appropriate for the needs of the different stakeholders. The center will also conduct its own research into effective communication of research findings with the goal of improving usability and facilitating the rapid incorporation of findings into medical practice.

 

 

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