AHRQ Joins New HHS Initiative To Improve Outcomes Via Primary Care

AHRQ is among federal partners and stakeholders that have joined a new initiative to strengthen primary healthcare nationwide.

The effort, launched by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), follows a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report that documented the weakening of primary care and called upon HHS to take a leadership role in ensuring high-quality primary care for all. Judith Steinberg, M.D., M.P.H., a leader in primary healthcare transformation and former chief medical officer in the Bureau of Primary Health Care at the Health Resources & Services Administration, will lead development of an HHS plan to strengthen primary healthcare with the aim of improving health outcomes and advancing health equity. The plan, which will be presented to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for his review, will include the role of HHS in leading this effort and specific actions to be taken across HHS.

AHRQ’s contributions will reflect its role as a principal source of funding for primary care research and home for the National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research, which provides evidence, tools, and other resources for researchers, clinical teams, quality improvement experts, and others to improve the quality and safety of primary care.