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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has published a notice inviting comments on Common Formats–Hospital Version 1.2, which is used for reporting patient safety events to Patient Safety Organizations (PS0s). Separately, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has launched the “Reporting Patient Safety Events Challenge,”…

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Program is sponsoring a symposium/webcast on original research methods for comparative effectiveness (CER) and patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) in Rockville, Maryland on June 12 and 13, 2012.  AHRQ is inviting the submission of papers, presentations, and abstracts for the symposium, titled “From Efficacy to…

A recent OIG report, "Hospital Incident Reporting Systems Do Not Capture Most Patient Harm,” estimates that hospital incident reporting systems captured only about 14% of the “patient harm events” experienced by Medicare beneficiaries. Because of what the OIG characterizes as an “absence of clear event reporting requirements,” administrators classified the remainder of unreported…

On October 22, 2010, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a notice announcing the availability of a revised common format for reporting Device or Medical/Surgical Supply patient safety data. Specifically, the revised common format, “Device or Medical/Surgical Supply Including HIT Device,” now captures information about patient safety events related to health

On December 2-3, 2010, the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are co-sponsoring a conference on “Methodological Challenges in Comparative Effectiveness Research.”  The meeting will explore new methodologic, design and evidentiary approaches that can help “ensure the credibility, validity and reliability of applicable research findings to a diverse population,…

On October 12, 2010, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is hosting a free web conference on “Integrating Comparative Effectiveness Research into Everyday Practice.” The conference will feature presentations on the “Role of CER in Health Care Improvement,” “AHRQ’s Existing CER Resources on Diabetes and Cardiac Conditions,” and “Examples of Incorporating CER Into…

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking nominees to fill upcoming vacancies on the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality (the Council). The mission of the Council is to advise the HHS Secretary and AHRQ Director on such issues as priorities for health care research, related training needs, health quality…

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released two reports on patient quality trends. The National Healthcare Quality Report includes information obtained through quality measures, while the National Healthcare Disparities Report summarizes health care quality and access among various populations. Among other things, the Quality Report found that little progress has been made…

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report entitled, “Patient Safety Act: HHS Is in the Process of Implementing the Act, So Its Effectiveness Cannot Yet Be Evaluated.” The report seeks to assess the early implementation of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, which included provisions to encourage health care providers…

A recent OIG report, “Adverse Events in Hospitals: Public Disclosure of Information about Events,” focuses on policies and practices associated with the public disclosure of hospital adverse event information, including mechanisms for protecting patient privacy. In the OIG review of 17 state adverse event reporting systems, eight Patient Safety Organizations overseen by AHRQ, and …

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a "Horizon Scan" entitled "To What Extent do Changes in Third-Party Payment Affect Clinical Trials and the Evidence Base?" The analysis examines the extent to which payment policies may be influencing clinical trial participant recruitment, participation, and retention rates   The report found that …

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released for public comment its draft Technology Assessment, “Report on the Evidence Regarding Off-Label Indications for Targeted Therapies used in Cancer Treatment.” The document reviews the medical literature regarding 19 different drug/diseases indications that, at the time of their selection, were all off-label. The report concludes…

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Program has issued two reports that examine when AHRQ should update comparative effectiveness reviews (CERs). The first document is a draft research review on “Updating Comparative Effectiveness Reviews”. This guidance sets forth a framework for identifying new evidence or evidence not considered in a…

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has published a notice announcing an updated version of the common definitions and reporting formats that allow healthcare providers to voluntarily collect and submit standardized information regarding patient safety events under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. The notice also describes AHRQ’s process for …

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking public comment on a series of white papers to support its ongoing project on “Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes.”  The white papers, which address interfacing registries with electronic health records, stopping a registry, data linkage, and the use of registries in product safety assessment, eventually…