AHRQ Improving Diagnostic Safety in Ambulatory Care: Strategies and Preventions (R18)

The purpose of this R18 NOFO is to invite proposals focused on research in demonstration and dissemination of diagnostic safety in ambulatory care.  Ambulatory care settings include emergency medicine, primary care, urgent care, mental health, obstetrics and gynecology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and oncology, and connected ambulatory systems such as the cancer pathway, which involves numerous subspecialities. In diagnostic safety, a demonstration project may be conducted to show: 1) the effectiveness of an existing or new process, such as requiring a second opinion on all new patients prior to finalizing a diagnosis (i.e., method demonstration) or 2) the effectiveness of an application, such as a new computer algorithm to improve diagnostic accuracy (i.e., result demonstration). Dissemination is the targeted distribution of information and materials about an evidence-based intervention to a specific clinical practice or public health audience. Dissemination is most effective when it starts early, galvanizes support, uses champions and brokers, considers contextual factors, is timely, relevant, and accessible, and understands the players and processes. This AHRQ R18 NOFO supports projects that mitigate risks, errors, and harms through the design, implementation, and evaluation of patient safety strategies and the adaptation, refinement, and sustainment of those strategies.