AHRQ proposes tools to improve understanding of value

The Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) called on the Office of Management and Budget to approve a pilot program aimed at increasing awareness among clinicians of the monetary value derived through treatment they deliver in a notice published in the Federal Register.

“Higher value is more likely if organizations doing quality improvement link efforts to improve care quality with efforts to reduce unnecessary costs,” the Jan. 7 notice read. “Adding value within healthcare requires understanding the contribution that organizational culture makes to value and working to foster a culture where high value is a cultural norm.”

AHRQ said it hopes to develop that understanding through two proposed programs, value and efficiency surveys and a communicating about value checklist. Surveys will be designed to measure healthcare professionals’ perceptions of what is important regarding value within their organizations. The checklists will be designed as an aid to facilitate patient-provider discussions about value.

Public comment on the proposed projects, which are described in detail here, is welcome until March 8.