Fact Sheet
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) tracks the impact and use of the research it funds. This fact sheet highlights some of the ways AHRQ research has been adapted for use in the private sector.
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Examples follow of how research funded by AHRQ is adapted for use by the private sector.
UnitedHealthcare, a national managed care organization (MCO) reports that the recent finding from AHRQ's study on beta-blocker use for myocardial infarction (MI) patients is now a part of its new physician education program. The published results are used as a reference and cited as such in its materials as a part of its
Clinical Profiles Program. Clinical Profiles are sent to physicians and
contain information about their patients and whether they have
received screening or treatment according to nationally accepted
guidelines.
UnitedHealthcare, of Minnetonka, MN, represents 7 million commercial members, 430,000 Medicare members, and 500,000 Medicaid members.
The American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) modeled its
Pediatric Education for Prehospital
Professionals (PEPP) program to
encourage appropriate use of bag-valve-mask ventilation (BVM) alone
on children needing artificial
respiration. The recommendation
was based on the results of a clinical
trial sponsored by AHRQ and the
Health Resources and Services
Administration's Maternal and
Child Health Bureau. The study
found that BVM had comparable
survival rates for young children
who have stopped breathing
without the risk of an intubation
procedure.
AHRQ funded research for the
development of software that runs a
new electrocardiogram (EKG)
machine that can help physicians
more quickly diagnose cardiac
ischemia (inadequate blood flow to
the heart, a major cause of heart
attack) and decide whether
thrombolytic drugs should be
administered. The software analyzes
the EKG for signs of cardiac
ischemia or heart attack using a
program called ACI-TIPI, or Acute
Cardiac Ischemia-Time Insensitive
Predictive Instrument.
For those patients with signs of a
heart attack, the software integrates
clinical factors such as age, gender,
and duration of symptoms with the
EKG findings and provides
information that is individualized to
the patient about the impact of
thrombolytics on the risks of death,
stroke, and major bleeding
complications. This more complete
information can help physicians
make decisions about what type of
treatment is needed. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
approved this research-developed
software for use in hospital
emergency rooms and by pre-hospital
emergency personnel.
Two private-sector companies,
Hewlett-Packard and Marquette
Electronics, now use this as a
standard feature on their machines
sold for this purpose. Between
them, the two companies control 80
percent of the EKG machine market
in the United States. An AHRQ-supported
study published in 1998 estimated
that widespread use of this
instrument could result in 204,000
fewer hospital admissions a year and
112,000 fewer coronary care unit
admissions, for an overall annual
savings of $728 million.
A successful bilingual chronic
disease self-management program in
San Antonio, TX, called "Living
with Chronic Illness: How To
Overcome Your Symptoms Through
Self-Management," is the result of a
research study co-sponsored by
AHRQ and the State of California.
The San Antonio program is offered
through the Texas Diabetes Institute
in both English and Spanish. It is
based on the Chronic Disease Self-Management
Program, developed
through a 5-year research study
funded by AHRQ (http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/programs/cdsmp.html). In that study,
Stanford University investigators
showed that patients with different
chronic diseases can jointly learn
disease management techniques.
The program is offered once a week
for 6 consecutive weeks. Each class
lasts 2½ hours and is offered free.
The classes are offered mornings,
afternoons, and evenings. Patients
are provided information on
nutrition; exercise; problem solving;
symptom management;
communication with health care
professionals; reducing frustration,
anger and depression; relaxation
techniques; and medication usage.
Within the first year of offering the
course, more than 130 patients
participated in 9 classes,
including 4 in Spanish.
An AHRQ study on the benefits of
prescribing beta-blockers after acute
myocardial infarction prompted the
National Committee for Quality
Assurance (NCQA) to incorporate a
performance measure into the
Health Plan Employer Data
Information Set (HEDIS 3.0).
Hundreds of health plans have been
voluntarily reporting their use of the
quality indicator since 1996, with
372 reporting on their performance
during 2000. Health plans are
using the indicator in three ways:
- To report their results on this
quality indicator in their public
reports to NCQA, to employers with whom
they want to do business and
even to certain States, for example,
Maryland, New Jersey, and Texas.
- To use the indicator as an internal
quality improvement tool.
- To monitor their internal quality
improvement efforts and to get
credit for those efforts, as required
by NCQA accreditation
standards.
Since July 1999, NCQA has used
the reported results to compare
health plans nationally and uses the
results of that comparison to
determine accreditation status.
The Guide to Clinical Preventive
Services, 2nd Edition, has been used by
individual providers, professional
societies, health plans, and policymakers
to guide practice and policy
regarding prevention in primary
care. Over 70,000 copies of the
second edition of the Guide have
been sold. The guide was developed by
the AHRQ-sponsored U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force
(USPSTF).
The American Academy
of Family Physicians (AAFP) used
the assessments of the USPSTF as
the foundation for its
"Recommendations for the Periodic
Health Examination." The recommendations
outline standards and guidelines for
preventive care for the more than
85,000 family practitioners in the
organization.
AHRQ's Consumer Assessment of
Health Plans (CAHPS®) gives
people information on the
experiences of their neighbors and
colleagues of the quality of care
offered by health plans in a given
organization, State, or region.
This information is used by health care
purchasers, employers, and health
plans so they can select plans to
offer their employees and so their
employees can make informed
choices about health plans, and by
plans for quality monitoring and
improvement.
Since 1997, the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) has adapted the HCUP Quality Indicators (QIs) to produce annual comparative reports for its member hospitals. The association represents more than 500 nonprofit and public hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health agencies.
The purpose of each
annual report is to provide
individual hospitals with
comparative data on a broad range
of indicators to help them target
areas for improving quality of care
and efficiency. The QI outcome
measures provide guidance to
identify areas for further
examination inside each hospital,
and the QI measures of access and
utilization serve as a springboard for
regional and community health
initiatives.
Each hospital receives its
own report with comparisons to
Statewide norms, regional averages,
and peer group averages. Reports
prepared for hospital systems
include data for each affiliated
hospital. Additional comparisons
are made with data of other States,
including California and
Massachusetts.
More Information
For further information about private-sector
use of AHRQ research, contact:
Karen J. Migdail
Public Affairs Specialist, AHRQ
(301) 427-1855
Karen.Migdail@ahrq.hhs.gov
AHRQ Publication No. 02-P026
Current as of June 2002
Internet Citation:
Private-Sector Use of AHRQ Research. Fact Sheet. AHRQ Publication No. 02-P026, June 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/privateuse.htm