Outcomes research studies the effects of healthcare treatments and interventions on individuals, families, and communities. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) conduct outcomes research in the United States. Outcomes research can improve quality of care by establishing evidence-based practices and standards of care, but it also requires significant funding, may take a long time to conduct, and its recommendations may not be affordable or meet accreditation standards in all cases.

1. OUTCOMES RESEARCH
Ana Katrina Mendoza

2. Definition of Outcomes Research
It is the study about the
effects of care and
treatments on individuals,
families and communities
(Schmidt & Brown, 2015)

3. Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ)
 is a U.S. government agency that functions as a part of
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
 Invests in research and evidence to make healthcare
safer and improve quality
 Creates materials to teach and train healthcare
professionals to help them improve care for their
patients
 Generates measures and data used to track and improve
performance and evaluate progress of the U.S. health
system

4. Patient Centered Outcomes
Research Institute (PCORI)
 is a United States-based non-governmental institute
created as part of a modification to the Social Security
Act by clauses in the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act.
 Non-profit organization
 Examines the relative health outcomes, clinical
effectiveness, and appropriateness of different medical
treatments by evaluating existing studies and
conducting its own studies.

5. What are the positive impact
of Outcomes Research to
patients and healthcare
professionals?

6.  Serves as a powerful tool for improving the quality
of care.
 Describes effectiveness of public-health
interventions and health services
 Used to establish evidence-based practice
 Creates standards of care across healthcare
systems.
 Attention is frequently focused on patients− with
measures such as quality of life and preferences.
 Outcomes research may also refer to effectiveness
of health-care delivery, with measures such as
cost-effectiveness, health status and disease
burden.

7. What are the wasteful or not
positive impact of Outcomes
Research to patients and
healthcare professionals?

8.  Needs funding and may be costly to conduct.
 May take a long time to conduct and results
may not be significant.
 They are closely scrutinized and may not
meet accreditation standards.
 Their recommendations may be expensive
that patients, hospitals or community will not
be able to afford
 Numerous outcomes researches are done, but
few actually provide strong evidence for
claims of treatment efficacy.
 There are times when unneeded duplication
of studies are conducted

9. References:
 Schmidt, N. A. & Brown, J. M. (Eds.). (2015). Evidence-
based practice for nurses: Appraisal and application of
research (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2016).
Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov.
 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institure (2017).
Retrieved from http://www.pcori.org.