ECRI Institute, an independent non-profit doing research to find the best approaches to improving patient care has been awarded a multi-year contract from AHRQ to establish the first national Healthcare Horizon Scanning System. ECRI Institute selected three main subcontractors, the Lewin Group, Thompson Reuters Healthcare, and Mathematica as their three main subcontractors for the project.
The horizon scanning system will be in place to provide a comprehensive, systematic, transparent process for identifying, tracking, and monitoring new healthcare technologies, including drugs, medical devices, procedures, services, and care delivery innovations that could signal important changes in patient care, health outcomes, or the healthcare system. The scanning process will enable AHRQ to better allocate resources for patient-centered outcomes research, and be a better resource for the public.
AHRQ has identified fourteen high priority areas for horizon scanning and patient-centered outcomes research, including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, dementia, depression, developmental delays, diabetes, functional limitation, infectious disease, obesity, peptic ulcer disease, pregnancy, pulmonary disease, and substance abuse.
“Every day we hear about new technologies that may lead to breakthroughs in medical science and patient care,” reports Karen Schoelles, MD, Project Director of the Healthcare Horizon Scanning system, and Director, for the ECRI Institute’s Evidence-based Practice Center. “Though this exciting new program, we will assist AHRQ in identifying those interventions that hold promise for addressing the agency’s priority health conditions.”
For more information, go to www.ecri.org or contact the ECRI Institute by email at communications@erci.orf or call (610) 825-6000.
