Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Phillip Fitzsimmons and Dale EvansGovernment Documents Al Harris Library SWOSU

Lots of e-gov. docs of interest to educators:

Federal• Most important of all

http://USA.gov/ • Census—Political Science • NASA—Astronomy and Engineering

• USGS—Biological Sciences

• MedlinePlus—Healthcare Disciplines

State• http://www.ok.gov/

• http://www.crossroads.odl.state.ok.us/

Your hub to e-gov. documents: http://www.usa.gov/

U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/

USGS: http://www.usgs.gov/

A word about Medline Plus: http://medlineplus.gov/

Healthcare awareness in the United States has improved during the last 50 years.

Where do I go for information on …

• Health care quality• Effective medical procedures and recommendations

for their use

• Guidelines on medical treatment

• The latest in health care research findings and news 

…that goes beyond ?

http://www.ahrq.gov/

AHRQ is not found within the SWOSU database list. Instead, go to: http://www.ahrq.gov/

AHRQ: BackgroundMission: To sponsor, conduct, disseminate, and support research designed to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans by providing information that helps people make better decisions about health care.

Created: December 6, 1999, as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Sister agencies: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Health Care Financing Administration, and Health Resources and Services Administration.

Budget: $329.6 million. Nearly 80 percent of AHRQ's budget is awarded as grants and contracts to researchers at American universities and other research institutions.

http://www.ahrq.gov/about/profile.htm

Main functions:• AHRQ sponsors and conducts research

that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access.

• The information helps health care decision makers—patients and clinicians, health system leaders, purchasers, and policymakers—make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.

http://www.ahrq.gov/about/profile.htm

http://www.ahrq.gov/

News & InformationNews & Information

First stop – Newsroom

• Press releases• Interviews, speeches, and testimony• Audio and video resources• Research in progress• Web resources• Government information locator

service• E-mail requests

• Electronic newsletter  

http://www.ahrq.gov/news/vnewsix.htm

How to stay up to date:

• Sign up for the e-newsletter• RSS feed• Listen to audio broadcasts

Using the dropdown menu:

Nursing Research:

Nursing tools:

Of special interest:

Nursing research:• Evidence Reports • Research Funding • Speeches & Testimony • Highlights

Evidence Reports• Nurse Staffing and Quality of Patient Care• Hospital Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care• Palliative Wound Care at the End of Life

Research Funding• Evidence-based Resources for Nurses• Funded Grants Submitted by Nurses

Evidence-based Practice

Centers

Under the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPC), 5-year contracts are awarded to institutions in the United States and Canada to serve as EPCs. The EPCs review all relevant scientific literature on clinical, behavioral, and organization and financing topics to produce evidence reports and technology assessments. These reports are used for informing and developing coverage decisions, quality measures, educational materials and tools, guidelines, and research agendas. The EPCs also conduct research on methodology of systematic reviews.

http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epc/

Fact Sheets:

National Guidelines Clearinghouse

• Collects guidelines for medical treatments

• Information gathered worldwide• Has own web site at:

http://www.guideline.gov/

National Guideline Clearinghouse may also be accessed in AHRQ: http://www.guideline.gov/

National Guideline ClearinghouseHomepage.

NGC – Cancer search

870 Cancer results found.

Narrowed search: Lung Cancer

211 Results for Lung Cancer.

Recommended Treatment:

Also at AHRQ

• NIH Consensus Development Program

• Archive of consensus reports about recommended medical treatments

• Includes Previous conference statements, with links on Webcast Days, News Release, and Program Book

• AHRQ Review -- New statements at This Week and Recent Conferences

AHRQ guideline on patient safety:

AHRQ guideline on pharmacy management:

AHRQ guideline on hospital administration:

To summarize:

• The U.S. Government produces electronic documents with information in many areas of study

• AHRQ provides Evidence-Based resources for healthcare workers to make decisions according to the best research in their field

• AHRQ produces Fact sheets, Evidence Reports and other products to aid healthcare workers

Questions?

Thank you!