Federal Register: September 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 188)
DOCID: fr28se07-93 FR Doc 07-4771
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr28se07-93
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of Submission of Innovations.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange
DATES: There is no deadline for submission. It is a continuous submission and review process.
Special Incentive To Submit
AHRQ will provide early submitters (those who submit by January 15, 2008) and opportunity to preview and comment on version 2.0 of the Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site via a secure mechanism. In this preview, an opportunity will be given to browse and search the innovations profiled up to that point.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
To support its objective of accelerating the diffusion and
adoption of innovative health care delivery changes, the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently launched version 1.0 of
the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange (HCIE) Web site, http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov. The HCIE is a new initiative designed to
support health care professionals in sharing and adopting innovations
that improve health care quality. Version 1.0 of the Web site is
focused on stimulating creativity and innovation and will serve as a
virtual place to which innovators will be encouraged to submit their
innovations and experiences from which potential adopters can begin learning about the nuances of implementation.
In Spring 2008, AHRQ will deploy version 2.0 of its Health Care Innovations Exchange site making hundreds of profiles of health care service innovations of varying degrees of novelty and scientific rigor accessible to the public. Version 2.0 will also offer expert commentary; stories; tools; lessons learned; ``change packages''sets of innovations implemented simultaneously; expanded content on implementation; and opportunities to learn and network.
To build the database of innovations profiles, AHRQ invites submissions of
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health service innovations to its Health Care Innovations Exchange. The
AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange database will cover the broad
spectrum of health care settings, systems, and providers. Public health
priority diseases/conditions, priority populations, and efforts to reduce disparities in quality will be highlighted.
The AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange is seeking a broad range of novel health care strategies, activities, and tools. AHRQ invites participation in its Health Care Innovations Exchange by submitting descriptions of innovative efforts to improve the delivery of health care services.
SUMMARY:
Health Care Innovations Exchange; website initiative,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Inclusion Criteria
To be considered for inclusion, health are innovations have to meet six criteria with respect to the nature of the activity, the level of documentation, and the participation of the innovator. These are minimum requirements. The ultimate decision to publish a detailed profile of an innovation (an Innovation Profile) will depend on several factors, including an evaluation by AHRQ, AHRQ's priorities (see below), and the number of similar ideas in the Health Care Innovations Exchange. Innovations that do not qualify for an Innovation Profile may qualify as Innovation Briefs (short descriptions of intriguing activities that either do not meet the minimum requirements or are not regarded as high priority) or Innovation Attempts (descriptions of projects that did not succeed as planned). Criteria to be considered are:
The innovation is a patient care services activity
The innovation does not have to involve direct patient care or
direct contact with health care consumers. However, it must have
important implications for the delivery of patient carewhether
preventative, emergent, chronic, acute, rehabilitative, longterm, or
endoflife. Innovations that are devices, tools, technology, software,
curricula, policies, procedures, and changes to the physical
environment will generally be excluded unless they are tied to a
specific and associated change in the health care delivery process when implemented.
The innovation intends to improve one or more domains of health care quality
The innovation must be designed to address one or more specific
measurable indicators of quality in one or more of the following
domains: effectiveness, efficiency, equity, patientcenteredness,
safety, and timeliness. The measurable quality indicators do not have
to come from an established measure set, but they must be clearly
defined and relevant to the quality issue the innovation addresses. In
addition, the innovation must not contradict established standards of evidencebased care.
There is reason to believe that the innovation will be effective
Evidence that the innovation is likely to achieve its goals must be provided. Ideally, quantitative or qualitative support for a link between the innovation and improved performance on the defined quality indicator should be offered. However, if data are unavailable, limited, or lacking methodological rigor, the design or theoretical foundation of the innovative activity may serve as sufficient support. The activity is truly innovative in a given context
For the purposes of the Health Care Innovation Exchange, innovations are activities that are generally perceived as new in a particular context or setting relative to the usual care processes. In addition to brand new ideas, this includes activities adapted from other industries to health care, transferred from one health care setting or market segment to another, drawn from settings in other countries, or applied to a new or different patient population. A description of how the innovation differs from what was regarded as standard practice in the setting in which it was implemented must be supplied.
Information about the innovation is publicly available
Innovators must be willing to make enough information freely
available to enable a user of the Health Care Innovations Exchange to
understand the elements of the innovation and, if desired, adopt the
innovation. This requirement does not exclude innovations that
incorporate commercial products or other materials for which there may
be a fee or licensing requirements. It is not necessary for all
information about the innovation to be publicly available, but AHRQ
will need access to information with sufficient detail to produce a full profile.
The innovator (or a representative) is willing and able to participate in the Health Care Innovations Exchange
A knowledgeable contact person must be available as a resource for
potential adopters of the innovation for at least one year. To minimize the burden on innovators, the Health Care Innovations
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Exchange staff will facilitate communication among users and developers
of innovations. However, the participation of the innovator is
essential to the ability of the Health Care Innovations Exchange to
foster and promote the diffusion of innovations through social
learning, a central goal of this program. The level of participation
can vary according to innovator interest and schedules. Innovators will
be expected to respond to occasional inquiries and to join a Health
Care Innovations Exchange community of practice related to the
innovator's particular innovation, so that ideas can be shared in an organized instructional fashion or setting.
AHRQ's Priorities
Dated: September 18, 2007.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 074771 Filed 92707; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 416090M
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Explore: http://www.innovations.
ahrq.gov; And/Or Contact: Mary P. Nix, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB, Health
Scientist Administrator, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850, phone: 3014271624, email:
Mary.Nix@ahrq.hhs.gov.