Ambulatory Safety and Quality Program

Overview | Enabling Patient-Centered Care | Enabling Quality Measurement

Overview

The purpose of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ's) Ambulatory Safety and Quality (ASQ) program is to improve the safety and quality of ambulatory health care in the United States. The program includes four health IT-focused ASQ initiatives. At the conclusion of each ASQ grant initiative, AHRQ developed reports that summarize the projects in each initiative and identify practical insights regarding the use of health IT to improve safety and quality in ambulatory settings. 

Enabling Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT

Available below are a report, exemplary stories in written and/or video format, and Web conferences highlight key findings and lessons learned from the experiences of 16 projects that were awarded under AHRQ's Enabling Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT (PCC) grant initiative.

Findings from the Enabling Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT Projects

Findings and Lessons From the Enabling Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT Grant Initiative (PDF, 1.18 MB) PDF Help.

Exemplary Enabling Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT Projects

	Patients Take a Bite of Prevention Apple with Web-based Interactive Personal Health Records (PDF, 5.58 MB) Principal Investigator: Alexander Krist (Grant No. R18 HS 017046) Interactive Preventive Health Record improves patient outcomes in the delivery of preventive services.
	Individualized, Multi-Media Materials in Spanish and English Help Seniors Manage Medications and Communicate with Clinician Team (PDF, 600 KB) Principal Investigator: Kate L. Lapane (Grant No. R18 HS 017281) The development of DVD segments on topics such as insomnia, depression, heart failure, and diabetes show promise as a way to help older adults address medication health care challenges. For more information, please access this video  (10 min., 29 sec.)
	My Wellness Portal Enhances Patient-Centered Preventive Care (PDF, 173 KB) Principal Investigator: James W. Mold (Grant No. R18 HS 017188) My Wellness Portal - a patient-centered, prevention oriented, Web-based personal health record - can help improve patient-centered care, increase the delivery of individualized recommended preventive services, and increase clinician knowledge of patients' medical histories. For more information, please access this video  (6 min.)

 National Web Conferences Featuring Enabling Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT Projects 

• A National Web Conference on Practical Models to Improve Patient-Clinician Communication Using Health IT 
  On December 18, 2012, AHRQ hosted a national Web conference on practical models to improve patient-clinical communication using health IT featuring Dr. William Adams, Ms. Elizabeth Hahn, and Dr. Michael Wolf. To access materials from the Web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/patientcliniciancommunicationteleconference. 

• A National Web Conference on the Evaluation of Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems and Their Impact on Chronic Disease 
  On January 25, 2012, AHRQ hosted a national Web conference on the evaluation of PHR systems and their impact on chronic disease featuring Drs. Carl Stepnowsky and Peggy Wagner. To access materials from the Web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/phrevaluationteleconference. 

• A National Web Conference on Utilizing Health IT to Improve Medication Management for the Care of Elderly Patients 
  On August 18, 2011, AHRQ hosted a national Web conference on utilizing health IT to improve medication management for the care of elderly patients featuring Dr. Kate Lapane. To access materials from the Web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/medicationmanagementforelderlyteleconference. 

• A National Web Conference on Putting the Patient Back in Patient-Centered Care 
  On March 30, 2011, AHRQ hosted a national Web conference on putting the patient back in patient-centered care featuring Drs. Elizabeth Chrischilles and Paul Tang. To access materials from the Web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/patientcenteredcareteleconference. 

• A National Web Conference on Patient Empowerment 
  On April 8, 2010, AHRQ hosted a national Web conference featuring Dr. Alexander Krist on patient empowerment. To access materials from the Web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/patientempowermentteleconference. 

• A National Web Conference on Transitions in Care 
  On February 24, 2010, AHRQ hosted a national Web conference on transitions in care featuring Dr. Brian Jack. To access materials from the Web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/transitionsincareteleconference. 

Enabling Quality Measurement Through Health IT

Available below are a summary report, exemplary stories in both written and video format, and a Web conference highlight key findings and lessons learned from the experiences of 17 organizations that received grant funding from AHRQ's Enabling Quality Measurement Through Health IT (EQM) grant initiative.

Findings from the Enabling Quality Measurement Through Health IT Projects

Findings and Lessons From the Enabling Quality Measurement Through Health IT Grant Initiative (PDF, 2.19 MB) PDF Help 

Exemplary Enabling Quality Measurement Through Health IT Projects

	Developing and Testing Quality Measures for Interoperable Electronic Health Records (PDF, 570 KB)  Principal Investigator: Rainu Kaushal The story features the four-part process that began in 2007 by Dr. Rainu Kaushal and her team (Grant No. R18 HS 017067) to generate and test the reliability of prioritized quality measures from the ambulatory setting. Fifteen of these measures were subsequently included in Meaningful Use 1 of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. For more information, please access this video (6 min., 51 sec.)
	Using Electronic Health Records to Measure and Improve Quality for Colonoscopy Procedures (PDF, 553 KB)  Principal Investigator: Judith Logan This story highlights the innovative approach of Dr. Judith Logan and colleagues (Grant No. R18 HS 017067) - using electronic health records to generate for clinicians' use interactive, Web-based quality reports about colonoscopies. For more information, please access this video  (7 min., 26 sec.)
	Measuring Quality in Physicians' Practices in Southwestern Missouri Using an electronic Health Record (PDF, 173 KB)  Principal Investigator: Denni McColm This story highlights the demonstrated improvements in efficiency and accuracy of quality of care measures through data capture and automated coding of patient data within ambulatory electronic healthcare record (EHR) compared to manual coding of those data.

National Web Conference Featuring Enabling Quality Measurement Through Health IT Projects

• A National Web Conference on the Use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to Improve Quality Measurement
  This AHRQ National Web Conference featured two EQM grantees, Drs. Brian Hazlehurst and Alexander Turchin, and was held on April 11, 2012. To access materials from the web conference, go to: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/nlp-eqmwebinar.