October 14, 2008

AcademyHealth Comments on AHRQ's New Innovations Portfolio

On August 15, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a notice in the Federal Register seeking ideas from the public on priority topics and activities that should be addressed as part of a new Innovations Research Portfolio. The Innovations Portfolio is designed to provide opportunities for “exploration and discovery” to foster and nurture ideas and projects that have the potential to lead to highly innovative solutions that may lead to significant advances in healthcare organization, delivery, and management.”

Given the implications of this proposed program for the field of health services research, AcademyHealth offered official comments for AHRQ's consideration on behalf of our members and the research community, noting that the creation of this new program is a positive first step in reversing the decline in investigator initiated health services research. Specifically, AcademyHealth recommends that AHRQ use the Innovations Research Portfolio to:

• Reinvigorate investigator innovation and ingenuity;
• Revive new and competing grants at AHRQ; and
• Provide a much-needed balance in the evidence base.

Please contact Emily Holubowich, Director of Government Relations with questions.

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