Gergen, Center for Primary Care and Research,
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, U.S.
In 1990, she joined what was then called the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, or AHCPR.
The
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research identified incontinence as one of the risk factors in the development of pressure ulcers and made recommendations for preventing incontinence dermatitis that could lead to ulcer formation.
Today, providers are being held accountable--clinically and financially--to heal wounds, using evidence-based protocols and nationally accepted clinical practice guidelines, such as those found in the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research's (now known as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) Treatment of Pressure Ulcers.
Carolyn Clancy of the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research in Rockville, Md., speculates that the high-volume benefit may result from trained health care teams, not just physicians, who can monitor and educate patients about their diseases.
The end of the 1980s witnessed the establishment of a new federal initiative, the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR).
While Congress and the president heap billions more onto NIH's plate, the little-known
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research makes do with a budget in the $100 million range.
"The 'Blueprint' is based heavily on current continence guidelines developed by the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research [AHCPR], now known as the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality [AHRCRQ] and the American Medical Directors Association [AMDA]," according to Nancy Muller, executive director of the NAFC.
* Stay abreast of
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research guidelines.
The federal government, through the
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, has created a network of evidence-based practice centers, which are charged with thoroughly reviewing the large body of literature focusing on certain controversial medical practices.
A new Center for Organization and Delivery Studies is conducting and supporting an expanded portfolio of research on managed care and health care markets ("Agency Launches New Center for Organization and Delivery Studies" 1996;
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and Health Affairs 1997).