January
4, 2005
|
Vol.
8 No. 1
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AHRQ ANNOUNCES TEN CONDITIONS FOR PRIORITY
RESEARCH
The Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality will spend $15 million
to develop systematic reviews and other evidence-based measures to determine
the best way to treat the top 10 medical conditions facing Medicare beneficiaries,
the agency announced on Dec. 15, 2004.
The new research was mandated as part of the 2003 Medicare reorganization
act passed by Congress and funded in the FY 2005 budget. The priority
conditions include cancer, stroke, ischemic heart disease, arthritis
and other joint disorders, diabetes, dementia, pneumonia, peptic
ulcers, depression and other mood disorders and asthma and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The research “will focus on the evidence of outcomes, comparative
clinical effectiveness and appropriateness of health care items such
as pharmaceuticals and health care services, including the manner
in which they are organized, managed and delivered,” according
to AHRQ. Once completed, the reviews will be publicly available.
