Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center among the first-ever awardees in the National Awards Program to Recognize Progress in Eliminating Healthcare-Associated Infections CDC: Hospitals continue progress in preventing infections American Heart Association: Improvements in Door-to-Balloon Time in the US - 2005 to 2010 Thomson Reuters Top 10 Health Systems of 2011 UMass Memorial Diabetes Scorecard Cooley Dickinson Hospital: Better-than-National Infection Rate Drops Further Following UV Room Disinfection Mercy Medical Center, Implements a Program to Decrease Pressure Ulcers Lawrence General Hospital: Runner Up: Med/surg unit boosts safety and satisfaction with initiative care MetroWest Medical Center Demystifies Outpatient Satisfaction Partners Study on Falls Featured in JAMA Winchester Hospital: A Focus on Outcomes Southcoast Health System: Reducing the Use of Safety Sitters Partners: Coordinating Care for High-Risk Patients New Bedford Rehab's use of volumetric capnography Winchester Hospital -- Reducing IV-associated bloodstream infection Newton-Wellesley Hospital: eMAP Rx for Medication Errors? Reducing Surgical Site Infections at New England Baptist Hospital Milton Hospital Reduces Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections Cooley Dickinson Hospital's Positive Culture Led to Pressure Ulcer Improvements Beverly Hospital Implements Nurse-Led Program to Reduce Patient Falls Boston Medical Center Nurses Teach Pressure Ulcer Prevention Two Hospitals are Co-Winners of Betsy Lehman Patient Safety Award Making Strides at Jordan Hospital to Reduce Falls Telling Your Hospital's Story Public Reporting of Serious Reportable Events Winchester Hospital's Hand-Hygiene Competency

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AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program funds individual researchers, research centers, and academic organizations to work together with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to produce effectiveness and comparative effectiveness research for clinicians, consumers, and policymakers. AHRQ is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As one of 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports health services research that will improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decisionmaking.

The Effective Health Care Program:

  • Reviews and synthesizes published and unpublished scientific evidence.
  • Generates new scientific evidence and analytic tools.
  • Compiles research findings that are synthesized and/or generated and translates them into useful formats for various audiences.

The Effective Health Care Program produces three primary products:

  • Research reviews: These comprehensive reports draw on completed scientific studies to make head-to-head comparisons of different health care interventions. They also show where more research is needed.
  • Original research reports: These reports are based on clinical research and studies that use health-care databases and other scientific resources and approaches to explore practical questions about the effectiveness - or benefits and harms - of treatments.
  • Summary guides: These short, plain-language guides - tailored to clinicians, consumers, or policymakers - summarize the findings of research reviews on the benefits and harms of different treatment options. Consumer guides provide useful background information on health conditions. Clinician and policymaker guides rate the strength of evidence behind a report's conclusions. The guides on medications also contain basic wholesale price information.


For further information, please follow one of the following links:

The Effective Health Care Program
Research Summaries for Consumers, Clinicians, and Policymakers
Tools and Resources
Search for Guides, Reviews, and Reports
Research Available for Comment
Submit a Suggestion for Research
Submit Scientific Information Packets
Comparative Effectiveness Research Grant and ARRA Awards
News and Announcements
What Is Comparative Effectiveness Research
Who Is Involved in the Effective Health Care Program