News: Funding Available for Research in Diagnosis
New funding opportunities from AHRQ are dedicated to diagnostic safety.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) for research in diagnostic safety. Recurring application dates begin September 25, 2015, with maximum funding per project of $350,000 for up to five years.
Early research helped raise awareness of patient safety problems in diagnosis, but overall, research funding has been difficult to obtain. With the funding currently available from AHRQ, investigators for the first time are able to apply for funding that is dedicated exclusively to diagnostic safety.
The two announcements focus on separate aspects of diagnostic safety in ambulatory care. One FOA—for an RO1 grant—is for studying the incidence of diagnostic failure and system-related factors that increase risk. The second FOA—for an R18 grant—is for examining potential strategies and interventions for improving diagnosis. Research is urgently needed in both areas.
The current issue of ImproveDx, the newsletter of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, includes more background about diagnostic safety research and information about the AHRQ grants. The newsletter is available at http://www.improvediagnosis.org/?page=Newsletters.