Article Describes AHRQ Process for Evaluating Interventions for Implementation

A new AHRQ article published in the journal Medical Care describes the process by which the agency has evaluated 35 patient-centered outcomes research interventions for implementation. The evaluation led to the identification of two practice interventions—cardiac rehabilitation after heart attack and screening/treatment for unhealthy alcohol use—as having sufficient evidence, impact and feasibility to justify an AHRQ investment to provide primary care practices the resources to implement interventions. Funding has been earmarked for these two interventions as a result of this evaluation process, which took place over a two-year period ending in June 2018. In April, AHRQ announced a new initiative to save lives by increasing patient participation in cardiac rehabilitation after cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery. The agency will soon announce a series of grants aimed at testing strategies for curbing alcohol use disorder. For more information about the process by which the interventions were evaluated, access the article abstract.