Use of evidence-based data to drive your patient safety program

The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) is committed to conducting and supporting health services research and promoting technical improvements that enhance the quality of health care delivered in the United States. A significant focus of AHRQʹs efforts has been its work on patient safety, and it had depended on numerous collaborative efforts both inside and outside of the federal government to exponentially increase what it could accomplish alone. In 2001 fiscal year, Congress appropriated $50 million for the AHRQʹs patient safety research initiatives that were collectively aimed at expanding the nationʹs capacity to conduct research in this field. The portfolio is guided by a user-driven patient safety research agenda that was developed at the September 2000 National Summit on Medical Errors and Patient Safety Research. The research results generated by this initiative will provide an evidentiary base for system improvements that, when implemented, will greatly enhance the safety of the nationʹs health care system. (Am J Infect Control 2002;30:314-7.)