The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) seeks information about how health care delivery organizations work to become “Learning Healthcare Systems.”
As outlined in its Jan. 12 request for information (RFI), AHRQ wants to know how health care delivery organizations have responded to the challenges of becoming a Learning Healthcare System. The National Academy of Medicine defines a Learning Healthcare System as an organization “designed to generate and apply the best evidence for the collaborative health care choices of each patient and provider; to drive the process of discovery as a natural outgrowth of patient care; and to ensure innovation, quality, safety, and value in health care.”
AHRQ seeks feedback on:
- how Learning Healthcare Systems use their data to spur clinical and organizational improvements;
- how data from Learning Healthcare Systems can help improve population health and reduce health care disparities;
- methodological and data quality issues health care delivery organizations have encountered;
- metrics Learning Healthcare Systems use to assess quality; and
- how Learning Healthcare Systems engage patients and family members.
AHRQ will use this feedback to develop initiatives to assist Learning Healthcare Systems, such as research grants, tools and training for health professionals, quality improvement measures, and learning networks.
Comments on the RFI are due Feb. 28. Contact Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
