AHRQ to Fund State-Based Healthcare Extension Cooperatives
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) intends to fund state-based healthcare extension cooperatives that can accelerate the dissemination and implementation of patient-centered outcome research (PCOR) evidence into practice.
The purpose of the initiative is to accelerate dissemination and implementation of PCOR evidence through improvements in healthcare policy, payment, and practice and to reduce healthcare disparities especially among people who receive Medicaid, are uninsured, and other people who are medically underserved. One initiative's focus must be on behavioral healthcare.
This effort builds on AHRQ’s prior PCOR Trust Fund investments developing the evidence base for healthcare extension services and leverages AHRQ’s expertise in supporting healthcare transformation and learning health systems.
Applicants will identify a single state that will be the focus of the cooperative’s activities. To support initiatives, the cooperatives will engage key stakeholders including Medicaid agencies, managed care organizations, and other organizations that address the health needs of people who are medically underserved in identifying and addressing barriers and facilitators to implementing patient-centered healthcare delivery improvements that are based on PCOR evidence.
They also will work with healthcare policy, payment, community, care delivery, and research organizations that serve people who are medically underserved to build their capacity to implement patient-centered healthcare delivery improvements based on PCOR evidence, and to support ongoing learning, conduct evaluations of the cooperative's activities and provide the support structure to ensure these activities are integrated and aligned.
The agency also will fund a National Coordinating Center and National Evaluation Center to support the initiative.
A notice fo funding opportunity is expected to be published in Summer 2024 with an expected application due date in Winter 2024.
