Federal Program Encourages Health Service Innovations on Developmental Disabilities

Beginning of article

As you patiently sit in the waiting room, or while driving from one specialist's office to the next, do you ever think of ideas that would improve or streamline the health services your child receives? As a clinician who serves children with developmental disabilities, have you ever developed an effective way to communicate with parents or a unique way to coordinate or deliver care to your patients? From the waiting room to the examining table, and from the doctor's visit to the next therapeutic consultation, there is always room for improvement in the delivery of health services.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Health Care Innovations Exchange (www.innovations.ahrq.gov) is a comprehensive program that documents these proven innovative approaches to health delivery. Innovations Exchange helps accelerate the development and adoption of innovation and supports AHRQ's mission to improve the safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity of care. In addition, it supports AHRQ's focus on reducing disparities in healthcare and health among racial, ethnic, and low socioeconomic groups. Innovations Exchange also is the home of AHRQ Quality Tools, a searchable database of practical tools that help with the assessment, measurement, and promotion of healthcare quality improvement.

As a parent …