Healthcare research

In a recent seminar, a medical expert noted that the United States has given away economic and technical dominance in industry after industry to other countries. Healthcare research is one of the few areas in which the U.S. enjoys unparalleled leadership which has enormous impact on the quality of medical care. If the healthcare industry and the academic medical enterprise falters—and this is in danger right now—I think it will be an absolute disaster for this country [40]. Many in pharmacy, medicine, and other healthcare fields would concur with the above statement. The problem is that many others in the public sector do not fully appreciate what is at stake. Pharmacists have an opportunity to help tell the story, as difficult as it sometimes is to convey. 

Laura C. Morgan, Janelle A. Shumate, Loraine G. Monroe and Kathleen N. Lohr, Comparative Effectiveness of Second-Generation Antidepressants in the Pharmacologic Treatment of Adult Depression. Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 7. (Prepared by Rti International-University of North Carolina Evidence-Based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-02-0016.) Rockville, Md Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2007) www.effective-healthcare.ahrq.gov/reports/final.cfm... 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality / The American Academy of Neurology... 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2002a) Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP)-II, www.ahrq.gov/research/triip2fac.htm (accessed May 24, 2002). 

HSTAT is a free, Web-based resource that provides access to full-text documents used in healthcare decision-making.14 These documents include clinical practice guidelines, quick-reference guides for clinicians, consumer health brochures, evidence reports and technology assessments from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as AHRQ s Put Prevention Into Practice.15 Simply search by isobutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (or synonyms) at the following Web site http //text.nlm.nih.gov. 

Jadad, A.R., Boyle, M, Cunningham, C. et al. (1999) Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Evidence Report/Tech-nology Assessment No. 11 (Prepared by McMaster University under Contract No. 290-97-0017). AHRQ Publication No. 00-E005. Rockville, Maryland Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. November. 

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies formed the Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force in 2000 and issued an action plan for reducing medical errors. In 2001, former HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced a Patient Safety Task Force to coordinate a joint effort to improve data collection on patient safety. The lead agencies are the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 

SIG (prescription instructions), and RxNorm (standard name, dose, and form availability) were not considered ready for implementation because of numerous approaches used in these three areas across health information technology. Electronic prescribing is not required under MMA, but plans are to have it available should providers choose to use it. As standards are developed, the adoption of e-prescribing is expected to improve patient safety by reducing prescribing and dispensing errors (Agency for Healthcare Research Quality, 2007). 

Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. 2007. National Resource Center for Health Information Technology. Electronic Prescribing, http //healthit.ahrq.gov/... 

Stagnitti, M. 2005, Antidepressant Use in the US Civilian Non-Institutionalised Population, 2002. Statistical Brief 77, Medical Expenditure Panel, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville,MD. 

To Err Is Human contains a four-part plan for decreasing the number of medical errors, and each part has implications for the pharmacy profession. To provide leadership and a research focus for patient safety. Part one recommends the creation of a center for patient safety within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Pharmacy organizations and pharmacists have the opportunity to contribute by including the study of medical errors in their applied research agendas. Using their expertise, pharmacists can provide input to the national goals, their content, and professional responsibilities for medicahon safety. ... 

Cosgrove, S., Jenckes, M., Kohri, K., Hsu, E., Green, G., Feurestein, C., et al. (2004). Evaluation of hospital disaster drills. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Available at http //www.ahrq.gov/research/hospdrills/index.html... 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2003). Anthrax summary Types of clinical anthrax. Retrieved March 25, 2007 from http //www.bioterrorism.uab.edu/EIPBA/Anthrax/summary. html... 

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