Family physicians interested in developing patient registries for use in their practices -- or who want to enhance existing registries -- now have access to a free resource from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ.
AHRQ Releases 'How-to' Guide on Patient Registries
U.S. Registries Inadequate, Says AAFP's Graham Center
By News Staff
6/20/2007
The 219-page publication, Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes: A User's Guide, is the first government-supported handbook to analyze patient registries. It identifies so-called best practices for operating registries and includes information on registry design; data elements and sources; ethics and privacy concerns; data collection, analysis and interpretation; adverse event detection, processing and reporting; and quality measurement.
"This registries guide is a milestone in our growing efforts to draw from medical practice and learn which treatments really work best," said HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt in a May 16 press release. The guide can be downloaded from the AHRQ Web site at no charge. Free print copies may be requested by calling (800) 358-9295 or e-mailing AHRQ. Ask for the publication by name.
The release of the AHRQ handbook is particularly timely for family physicians in light of a report recently released by AAFP's Robert Graham Center in Washington that determined that "patient registries are necessary for high-quality health care, but even in innovative practices, their presence and utilization is inadequate."
According to the Graham Center report, "Use of Patient Registries in U.S. Primary Care Practices," which was published in the June 1 American Family Physician, registries are commonly used by family physicians in the United Kingdom, in part because payment systems "cover their costs and reward their use.
"(Electronic health records) with integrated registries can provide a source of patient information and maintain multiple disease registries," said the report. However, "Few EHR systems in the United States are equipped with these critical functions. Changes in EHR design, health care payment, and quality incentives could improve the use of patient registries in U.S. primary care practices," the report concluded.
"This registries guide is a milestone in our growing efforts to draw from medical practice and learn which treatments really work best," said HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt in a May 16 press release. The guide can be downloaded from the AHRQ Web site at no charge. Free print copies may be requested by calling (800) 358-9295 or e-mailing AHRQ. Ask for the publication by name.
The release of the AHRQ handbook is particularly timely for family physicians in light of a report recently released by AAFP's Robert Graham Center in Washington that determined that "patient registries are necessary for high-quality health care, but even in innovative practices, their presence and utilization is inadequate."
According to the Graham Center report, "Use of Patient Registries in U.S. Primary Care Practices," which was published in the June 1 American Family Physician, registries are commonly used by family physicians in the United Kingdom, in part because payment systems "cover their costs and reward their use.
"(Electronic health records) with integrated registries can provide a source of patient information and maintain multiple disease registries," said the report. However, "Few EHR systems in the United States are equipped with these critical functions. Changes in EHR design, health care payment, and quality incentives could improve the use of patient registries in U.S. primary care practices," the report concluded.
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