WASHINGTON – The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has launched the Ambulatory Safety and Quality Grant Initiative, with a potential for granting as much as $25.8 million for healthcare IT projects for physicians and clinicians in ambultory settings.
The purpose of the agency’s program is to improve the safety and quality of ambulatory healthcare across the country. According to AHRQ, emerging information about ambulatory care suggests that the patient safety crisis in hospitals is only the “tip of the iceberg.”
The opportunity to turn the potential of healthcare IT toward improving safety and quality in the ambulatory care setting, especially within care transitions, will form the cornerstone of the program, AHRQ officials said. The initiative will provide up to 104 grants in four program areas: increased clinical use of IT, patient-centered care through IT, quality measurement and ambulatory care patient safety proactive risk assessments.