AHRQ Views Blog: Initiative Launched To Train a New Generation of Learning Health System Scientists

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Access more information on this topic in the associated systematic review, plus additional AHRQ data infographics.

Today's Headlines:

• AHRQ Views Blog: Initiative Launched To Train a New Generation of Learning Health System Scientists.
• AHRQ Seeks New Director of Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement.
• Feb. 28 Webinar on Use of Digital Health Technologies To Improve Care for Underserved Populations.
• Assisted Living Direct-Care Workers, Administrators Differ in Patient Safety Culture Perceptions.
• New Initiative Offered To Improve Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

AHRQ Views Blog: Initiative Launched To Train a New Generation of Learning Health System Scientists

A partnership between AHRQ and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to train a new generation of learning health system scientists is highlighted in the most recent AHRQ Views blog post. The benefits of learning health systems are increasingly evident in today’s data-rich healthcare environment, according to AHRQ Director Robert Otto Valdez, Ph.D., M.H.S.A., and PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., M.P.H. While collecting and analyzing data from diverse sources allows systems to generate the best evidence to optimize patient care, these efforts can only advance when scientists have the right skills to explore the relevant evidence and produce actionable insights. The new AHRQ–PCORI collaboration will invest up to $50 million over five years to support Learning Health System Embedded Scientist Training and Research (LHS E-StaR) Centers. Access more information about the initiative in AHRQ’s Notice of Funding Opportunity. Applications are accepted through March 24. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address and select “AHRQ Views Blog.”

AHRQ Seeks New Director of Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement

March 13 is the application deadline for individuals interested in serving as director of AHRQ’s Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement. The successful applicant will oversee a research portfolio that covers several programmatic areas including systematic evidence reviews; methods and measures of clinical decision-making and patient engagement; and quality, data and methods related to healthcare delivery and systems research, technical support and resource development. The director will serve as a principal adviser to AHRQ leadership and represent the agency on national and international committees. Learn more about this vacancy and others at AHRQ:

• Special Expert, Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement, Division of Digital Research. Application deadline: Feb. 9.
• Information Technology Specialist, Office of Management Services. Application deadline: Feb. 10.
• Management Analyst, Office of Extramural Research, Education and Priority Populations. Application deadline: Feb. 23.
• Staff Service Fellow, Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement. Application deadline: Feb. 23.

Feb. 28 Webinar on Use of Digital Health Technologies To Improve Care for Underserved Populations

An AHRQ webinar on Feb. 28 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. ET will include presentations from experts who will share their research findings on reducing health disparities and improving the quality of care for diverse patients through innovative digital health interventions. Among topics to be discussed: the potential impact of telepsychiatry consultations with automated interpreting on mental health services for patients with limited English proficiency; how an innovative artificial intelligence communication system can identify and mitigate health risks for young African American women prior to pregnancy; and how using an electronic social needs screening tool in the emergency department can improve referrals for patients. Access more information, including how to register.

Assisted Living Direct-Care Workers, Administrators Differ in Patient Safety Culture Perceptions

Direct-care workers in assisted living facilities perceive more patient safety problems in their facilities than do administrators, a new AHRQ-funded study concluded. Although safety culture has been accepted as an important indicator of quality in acute care settings, and increasingly within nursing homes, it has remained largely unexamined in assisted living communities. The study, a broad implementation of AHRQ’s Surveys of Patient Safety Culture™ in more than 250 assisted living facilities in 44 states, found that assisted living facility administrators’ and direct-care workers’ perceptions of patient safety culture differed significantly across almost all domains. While it is crucial to understand the source of these differing perceptions, the study’s authors, writing in Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, said further research is needed to examine if assisted living communities with better patient safety culture deliver better quality of care. Access the abstract.

New Initiative Offered To Improve Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care

Applications are being accepted for a free 18-month patient safety program designed to address the challenges of cancer diagnosis in ambulatory and primary care practices. The program, which will begin in June, will emphasize strategies to improve diagnostic verification, timeliness and communication with patients. Participants will receive one-on-one expert coaching to help improve diagnoses of breast, colorectal and lung cancers. The training will support implementation of evidence-based strategies to “close the loop” at critical points in the diagnostic process via telemedicine. To learn more about the initiative and how to apply, register now for one of several webinars. The application deadline is May 25.

Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network

AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Cost of inpatient falls and cost-benefit analysis of implementation of an evidence-based fall prevention program.
• Untenable expectations: nurses' work in the context of medication administration, error, and the organization.
• Surgical site infection prevention: a review.
• Leadership behavior associations with domains of safety culture, engagement, and healthcare worker well-being.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue or access recent cases and commentaries in AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Improving access to high-value, high-cost medicines: the use of subscription models to treat hepatitis C using direct-acting antivirals in the United States. Auty SG, Griffith KN, Shafer PR, et al. J Health Polit Policy Law 2022 Dec 1;47(6):691-708. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Oncologist counseling practice and COVID-19 vaccination outcomes for patients with history of PEG-asparaginase hypersensitivity. Zarnegar-Lumley S, Stone CA, Jr., Smith CM, et al. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2022 Jul;69(7):e29686. Epub 2022 Mar 30. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Accelerating opioid use disorders research by integrating multiple data modalities. Bianchi SB, Jeffery AD, Samuels DC, et al. Complex Psychiatry 2022 Sep;8(1-2):1-8. Epub 2022 May 23. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Surgical treatments for epilepsies in children aged 1-36 months: a systematic review. Tsou AY, Kessler SK, Wu M, et al. Neurology 2023 Jan 3;100(1):e1-e15. Epub 2022 Oct 21. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Medicaid expansion led to reductions in postpartum hospitalizations. Steenland MW, Wherry LR. Health Aff 2023 Jan;42(1):18-25. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Implementation of the I-PASS handoff program in diverse clinical environments: a multicenter prospective effectiveness implementation study. Starmer AJ, Spector ND, O'Toole JK, et al. J Hosp Med 2023 Jan;18(1):5-14. Epub 2022 Nov 3. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A novel strategy to optimize critical information on over the counter labels for older adults. Becker MW, Kashy DA, Harben A, et al. Health Sci Rep 2023 Jan 25;6(1):e1062. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Racial disparities in treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. O'Donnell TFX, Dansey KD, Marcaccio CL, et al. J Vasc Surg 2023 Feb;77(2):406-14. Epub 2022 Aug 18. Access the abstract on PubMed®.