The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports research that improves healthcare quality and performance improvement. Select and describe one of the data sources available from AHRQ. Include in your discussion the role of the healthcare leader in promoting safe, effective, evidence-based patient care.

Utilizing AHRQ Data Sources for Healthcare Management and Patient Safety

The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) has various data sources. The Compendium of U.S. Health Systems (COUSHS) is an example of a data source from AHRQ (AHRQ.gov, 2021). COUSHS comprises six hundred and twenty-six health systems in the USA (AHRQ.gov, 2021). Each health system should have a minimum of one hospital and a physicians’ group. The physicians offer comprehensive healthcare services and have joint management at the hospital. COUSHS has a database that identifies individuals, their states, and their cities via a unique identification number (AHRQ.gov, 2021). Furthermore, the database identifies the hospitals, physicians, management of the hospitals, bed capacity, and the types of healthcare services provided (AHRQ.gov, 2021). Furthermore, the database provides access to healthcare by different populations, such as those who are not insured.

Healthcare leaders play a major role in promoting evidence-based practice to provide patient care and improve patient safety. Firstly, they should cultivate a culture of research, inquiry, and collaboration (Majers & Warshawsky, 2020). Research ensures that current evidence is embraced to improve the quality of care and achieve patient safety. Secondly, they are responsible for establishing goals and metrics and conducting regular evaluations of the benchmark metrics (AHRQ.gov, 2019). Thirdly, play a role in formulating elaborate policies and procedures to achieve standardized processes, reduce medical errors, and improve patient safety (AHRQ.gov, 2019).

References

AHRQ.gov. (2021). Compendium of U.S. Health Systems. https://www.ahrq.gov/chsp/dataresources/compendium.html