SOS Rx

Clearinghouse of Safe Practices in High-Risk Situations

Update

January 12, 2005

This project will develop a clearinghouse of safe practices for high-risk situations in the outpatient setting.

Rationale

The clearinghouse will fill gaps in exiting databases on safe practices. It will focus on high-risk drugs in the outpatient setting.  Physicians need access to evidence-based safe practices and information on how to communicate those practices to patients, and patients need to know what actions to take and questions to ask about their medications. 

Objectives

The clearinghouse will:

1) Collect evidence and literature about the safe practices on high-risk drugs in the outpatient setting.  Include public and private sector research reports, plus generalized information from other settings.

2) Assemble, catalogue and maintain online database.

3) Make all accessible to clinicians and consumers. Primarily a resource for physicians when prescribing and other health care professionals, but will also contain consumer-friendly version of the safe practices

4) Translate research on safe practices on outpatient medications into safer, better clinical practice. 

Status

SOS Rx convened an expert panel to frame the scope of the project in March 2004.  The group produced consensus document on scope and governance. The project is now seeking a partner to develop and/or house clearinghouse.  Partner or host must have credibility, management skills, and content experts.

There are three phases to developing the clearinghouse:

1) Prototype - Develop prototype, a mock-up focused on only one high-risk drug (probably warfarin).  AHRQ Safe Practices Report a possible model.  Budget for prototype - $10,000 (in hand).  Use prototype to pitch project to potential partners, funders, and hosts,

2) Pilot – Develop pilot – a live online version of clearinghouse with structured evaluation of users.  Budget for pilot - $100,000 (needed)

3) Fully operational clearinghouse – once funding is secure, develop and test pilot.  Continue seeking resources for full-scale effort.

Organizations Contacted

Several organizations have expressed interest in the clearinghouse.  We have discussed with them the opportunity to become a partner to develop the prototype (funded) and to take the additional step of developing and funding the pilot.  Organizations that SOS Rx have met with include the following: 

- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

- American Health Quality Association

- Centers for Evaluation and Research on Therapeutics

- Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services

- ECRI

- Stanford Evidenced-Based Practice Center 

- WebMD

Next steps include contacting the following organizations or persons who have been recommended to us:

- Mary Jo Deering, AHRQ

- Institute of Medicine

- National Institutes of Health