Programs & Initiatives

As the manager of major programs serving the health services research and policy communities, AcademyHealth is a key authority in several substantive areas, including health care financing and organization, purchasing, translating health services research, and rural, state, and international health policy.

Programs

AHRQ Knowledge Transfer Initiative
Under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Knowledge Transfer Program, AcademyHealth works with health care providers, purchasers, health plans, and state and local government leaders to help them understand and apply health services research findings in their decision-making. More

Beacon Evidence and Innovation Network
Through the Beacon Evidence and Innovation Network (BEIN), AcademyHealth has joined with The Commonwealth Fund, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and other experts to assist the 17 Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program Communities in identifying, documenting, and disseminating the lessons and results of their individual efforts in a systematic way. More

Comparative Effectiveness Research
AcademyHealth supports efforts to increase comparative effectiveness research and its use as a tool to improve health care quality and outcomes. More

Diversity Initiatives
As the professional society for health services research (HSR) and policy, AcademyHealth works to improve both the supply and quality of HSR by expanding and improving the scientific basis of the field, increasing the capabilities and skills of researchers, and promoting the development of the necessary infrastructure of financial, human and data resources. As part of these efforts, AcademyHealth is committed to promoting racial and ethnic diversity among our members and the field at large, as well as supporting the study of disparities in health and health care. More

Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO)
HCFO supports research projects that will provide public and private decision makers with valuable information on health care policy, financing, and market developments to improve health care. More

HIT for Actionable Knowledge
AcademyHealth has received funding from the California Health Care Foundation to examine the challenges of using electronically generated data from health information technology (HIT) for secondary analytic purposes including health services research to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. This project continues an AcademyHealth collaboration with six early HIT-adopting health systems — the Veterans Health Administration (VA), Geisinger, Kaiser Permanente (KP), the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), Denver Health (DH) and the New York City Primary Care Information Project (PCIP) — begun in the fall of 2009 with seed funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). More

International Programs
AcademyHealth's international programs seek to inform U.S. policymaking with research and experiences of health systems around the world. More

Long-Term Care at AcademyHealth
The mission of the Long-Term Care program at AcademyHealth is to foster the development of the information base needed for policy and practice to meet the growing need for Long-Term Care (LTC). Program activities in include annual colloquia, policy seminars, and workgroup discussions. These activities provide a forum for long-term care stakeholders to exchange information, debate the issues, seek solutions, and identify where additional research is needed in the field. More

Multi-Payer Claims Database (MPCD)
Under a contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), OptumInsight (formally Ingenix) is developing a Multi-Payer Claims Database (MPCD), which will include longitudinal claims data to support comparative effectiveness research (CER). Development of the MPCD is a key element of the national effort to strengthen the data infrastructure and methods for CER. More

Public Health Systems Research (PHSR)
AcademyHealth’s Public Health Systems Research (PHSR) programs advance evidenced-based decision making in public health policy and practice by translating research findings and promoting partnerships among stakeholders. More

Research Insights Project: Translating and Disseminating Research for Policy
Through the Research Insights project, AcademyHealth convenes invitational meetings, holds webinars, and produces reports and issue briefs to foster discussion of existing, relevant research evidence among policy audiences who need it to implement health reform and develop new policy. These efforts are premised on the finding that successful dissemination requires multiple, complex pathways to reach policy audiences. A large conference grant from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supports Research Insights efforts on health care costs, organizations, markets, and productivity. More

Researching the Field
AcademyHealth works to improve both the supply and quality of health services research by expanding and improving the scientific basis of the field, increasing the capabilities and skills of researchers, and promoting the development of the necessary infrastructure of financial, human, and data resources. More

State Coverage Initiatives (SCI)
By providing technical assistance and access to health services research, SCI works with states to plan, execute, and maintain health insurance expansions, as well as to improve the availability and affordability of health care coverage. More

State Quality Improvement Institute (SQII)
In 2008, AcademyHealth and The Commonwealth Fund launched the State Quality Improvement Institute (SQII) – an intensive, competitively-selected technical assistance project for states that have made or are ready to make substantial commitments to health care quality improvement. More

Interest Groups

AcademyHealth Interest Groups provide a forum for members to share information, network with their peers, and learn more about a topic. More