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Office of the Assistant Secretary |
Policy Information Center |
AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE POLICY AND RESEARCH
MISSION: To generate and disseminate information that improves the health care system.
Evaluation Program
The
Evaluation Program within the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
(AHCPR) provides information on the Agency's effectiveness in meeting its
long-term goals and priorities, the efficiency of the Agency's program
performance through internal evaluations, and critical Agency and departmental
concerns via "fast-track" or quick-turnaround assessments.
Evaluation components are built into virtually all major AHCPR programmatic activities and a wide variety of "freestanding" projects are undertaken as needs are identified. Among the evaluation mechanisms used by the Agency are targeted evaluation studies undertaken through contracts or grants; efforts to obtain feedback from "customers" on the usefulness of AHCPR research efforts, including such mechanisms as focus groups and surveys; and feedback from AHCPR's User Liaison program (which provides information and technical assistance to State policymakers, health departments, and officials). Information gathered from AHCPR's evaluation-related activities will be used in the annual performance plans developed in response to the Government Performance and Results Act starting in FY 1999.
All "freestanding" evaluation activities undergo two levels of review. First, brief evaluation proposals are developed by staff and undergo review by affected senior managers. Those proposals approved by senior managers are submitted for review by the administrator. The administrator evaluates proposals for policy relevance, priority, cost effectiveness, and timeliness. Those that receive the administrator's approval are then methodologically developed and centrally reviewed for technical merit, including technical feasibility, costs, and relation to ongoing evaluation activities.
Summary of Fiscal Year 1998 Evaluations
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Performance Measurement
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Performance Measurement
TITLE: Inventory of DHHS Performance Measures-Phase II-Data Collection/Testing and Analysis
ABSTRACT: As part of an effort to prepare an inventory of health care performance measures, the final report of Phase II (of three) in the department recommends that: (1) data collection forms and instructions used during Phase II be reviewed with the objective of eliminating or simplifying data elements and response categories; (2) agency staff charged with completing forms or using software packages to enter their performance measures receive additional training; (3) more time be allocated for data collection, since the individuals who should be completing the entries tend to be those staff members most busy within their agencies; and (4) the appropriate representative in each participating agency recruit those who will be asked to complete the forms and ask them to attend a training session. See also PIC ID 6691 and 6691.2 (Final report 19 pages plus appendices.)
AGENCY SPONSOR: Center for Quality Measurement and Improvement
FEDERAL CONTACT: Marge Keyes
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-1349
PIC ID: 6691.1
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Center for Health Policy Studies
Columbia, MD
Evaluations in Progress
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TITLE: Development and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice Center (EPC) Program Evaluation
ABSTRACT: The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) supports 12 Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) to undertake scientific analyses and evidence syntheses on high-priority topics. The science syntheses-evidence reports and technology assessments produced by the EPCs provide the scientific foundation for public and private organizations to use in developing and implementing their own practice guidelines, performance measures and other tools to improve the quality of health care and make decisions related to the effectiveness or appropriateness of specific health care technologies. This project will implement an evaluation of the EPC program that assesses the impact of the evidence reports and technology assessments produced by the EPCs.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Center for Practice and Technology Assessment
FEDERAL CONTACT: Margaret Coopey
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-4022
PIC ID: 7037
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Medstat Group Washington, DC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 2/28/00
TITLE: Health Services Research Education: Assessing Customer Satisfaction and Program Needs
ABSTRACT: In addition to individual fellowship, dissertation, and institutional innovation incentive awards, the AHCPR currently supports 25 diverse health services research programs which train over 150 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students annually. This effort will include a customer satisfaction survey/evaluation of scholars whose training was supported by AHCPR institutional training program grants, and key informant feedback on the satisfaction of training program directors with the NRSA training program. In addition, the project will include a qualitative needs assessment relying on input from training program directors and other experts in health services research education.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Research Review, Education and Policy
FEDERAL CONTACT: Debbie Rothstein
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-2918
PIC ID: 7011
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Battelle Columbus Laboratories Columbus, OH
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 6/20/99
TITLE: Health Care Informatics Standards of Selected Federal Agencies: A Revised and Updated Report and Conference
ABSTRACT: This project builds on prior work conducted in support of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Data Council's Committee on Health Data Standards and the Information Infrastructure Task Force's Health Information Working Group to collect and summarize information on Federal agency health informatics standards activities of Federal agencies. This follow-up project will update previously collected data, expand data collection efforts to those not previously surveyed, and synthesize information for presentation to the Department through a one day conference.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Center for Organization and Delivery Studies
FEDERAL CONTACT: Stanley Edinger, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-1598
PIC ID: 6387
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Washington Consulting Group Bethesda, MD
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 3/31/99
TITLE: CONQUEST Evaluation
ABSTRACT: The Computerized Needs Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System (CONQUEST) is a quality improvement software tool that provides information on 1,200 clinical performance measures, both process and outcomes, on more than 50 conditions. This project will: (1) design an evaluation for CONQUEST 2.0; (2) design an evaluation for a future procurement that builds upon CONQUEST 2.0 which will become a part of the RFP for that future product; and (3) implement an evaluation of CONQUEST 2.0. In addition, information will be gathered on recommendations for improvement in the tool to better meet the needs of its users.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Center for Quality Measurement and Improvement
FEDERAL CONTACT: Marge Keyes
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-1349
PIC ID: 7010
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle, NC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 1/31/00
TITLE: Evaluation of Improvements to Grant Application Receipt and Review (Large and Small Grants)
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this project is to determine whether changes made to the grant application submission and peer review processes have resulted in improved efficiency and effectiveness from the perspectives of applicants, reviewers and agency staff.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Management
FEDERAL CONTACT: Joan Hurley
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-1449
PIC ID: 6696
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Research Triangle Institute Research Triangle Park, NC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 3/21/99
TITLE: Inventory of DHHS Performance Measures -- Phase III -- Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this project is to complete work on an inventory of Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) clinical, population, and systems performance measures for consumers, purchasers, regulators, providers, and public health officials in managed care. This includes gatekeeper arrangements and traditional non-managed care fee-for-service environments that will assist the DHHS Managed Care Forum and the Secretary's Initiative on Quality of Care. See also PIC ID 6691 and 6691.1.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Center for Quality Measurement and Improvement
FEDERAL CONTACT: Marge Keyes
PHONE NUMBER: 301-594-1349
PIC ID: 6691.2
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Center for Health Policy Studies Columbia, MD
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 5/28/99
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