Answering AHA Research Questions - 2010 to 2012

Listed below are the top research questions for the AHA Research Agenda for 2010 to 2012. Below each question are the reports and projects that provide valuable information specific to each research question. Resources in italics are pending funding or not complete.

What are the most effective and efficient ways for hospitals and health systems to integrate care and improve performance (financial, clinical, service, patient and staff experience) along the continuum of care (e.g., implementing care coordination across all settings of care)?

Health Care Leader Action Guide to Reduce Avoidable Readmissions (HRET, published January 2010)
Clinical Integration – The Key to Real Reform (AHA TrendWatch, published February 2010)
Improving Perinatal Safety (HRET published, February 2012)
Lifelong Learning: Physician Competency Development White Paper (AHA Physician Leadership Forum, report to be published in 2012)
Lifelong Learning: Physician Competency Development White Paper (AHA Physician Leadership Forum, published June 2012)
Creating the Hospital of the Future: The Implications for Hospital-Focused Practice (AHA Physician Leadership Forum, published November 2012)

What organizational characteristics, structures, and processes lead to a high- performing system of care (e.g., the implementation of specific HIT components, specific horizontal and vertically integrated system practices, and clinical and functional integration across a health system that produce benchmark outcomes)?

A Guide to Achieving High Performance in Multi-Hospital Health Systems (HRET, published March 2010)
The Road to Meaningful Use: What it Takes to Implement Electronic Health Record Systems in Hospitals (AHA TrendWatch, published April 2010)
Using Workforce Practices to Drive Quality Improvement (HRET, published June 2010)
Health Care Leader Action Guide on Implementation of Electronic Health Records (HRET, published July 2010)
Hand-Hygiene Project: Best Practices from Hospitals Participating in the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare Project (HRET, published November 2010)
Striving for Top Box: Hospitals Increasing Quality and Efficiency (HRET, published April 2011)
Allied Hospital Association Leadership for Quality – 2011 (HRET, published July 2011)
2011 Healthcare Governance Survey (CHG/HRET, report published in 2011)
Team-Based Health Care Delivery: Lessons from the Field – 2012 (AHA Physician Leadership Forum, published February 2012)
Health Care Leaders Action Guide to Effectively Using HCAHPS (HRET, published March 2012)
A Guide to Physician Integration Models for Sustainable Success (HRET, published September 2012)
Center for Healthcare Governance 18-month study of governance and leadership culture and its impact on health care organizational performance (CHG case studies to be published in December 2012)

What are the most promising practices and system design elements for reducing health disparities, considering all factors such as organizational elements and social determinants?

Improving Health Equity Through Data Collection AND Use: A Guide for Hospital Leaders (HRET, published March 2011)
Building A Culturally Competent Organization: The Quest for Equity in Health Care (HRET, published June 2011)
Caring for Vulnerable Populations (AHA Committee on Research, published in January 2012)
Eliminating Health Care Disparities: Implementing the National Call to Action Using Lessons Learned (AHA National Call to Action, published February 2012)
Diversity and Disparities: A Benchmark Study of U.S. Hospitals (HRET, published June 2012)

What is the role of the hospital in a new community environment that provides more efficient and effective health care (e.g., what are the redesigned structures and models, the role and implementation of accountable care organizations, the structures and processes needed to implement new payment models such as bundled payments, and how do organizations transition to this new role)?

Bundled Payment-AHA Research Synthesis Report (AHA Committee on Research, published May 2010)
Accountable Care Organizations-AHA Research Synthesis Report (AHA Committee on Research, published June 2010)
Early Learnings from the Bundled Payment Acute Care Episode Demonstration Program (HRET, published July 2010)
Patient-Centered Medical Home-AHA Research Synthesis Report (AHA Committee on Research, published September 2010)
A Guide to Financing Strategies for Hospitals – With Special Consideration for Smaller Hospitals (HRET, published December 2010)
A Call to Action: Creating a Culture of Health (AHA, published January 2011)
A Health Care Leader Action Guide: Hospital Strategies for Reducing Preventable Mortality (HRET, published February 2011)
A Health Care Leader Action Guide: Understanding and Managing Variation (HRET, published February 2011)
Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Hospitals Post-ACA (AHA TrendWatch, published April 2011)
Accountable Care Organization Case Studies (AHA, published May 2011)
Maximizing the Value of Post Acute Care (AHA TrendWatch, published November 2010 )
Readmissions and Mortality (AHA TrendWatch, published September 2011)
Behavioral Health (AHA TrendWatch, published 2011)
Hospital and Care Systems of the Future (AHA Committee on Performance Improvement, published September 2011)
Principles and Guidelines for Changes in Hospital Ownership (HRET, published, 2012)
A Guide to Strategic Cost Transformation in Hospital and Health Systems (HRET, published March 2012)
Managing Population Health: The Role of the Hospital (HRET published, April 2012)
Hospital Readiness for Population-based Accountable Care (HRET, published, May 2012)
Hospitals on the Path to Accountable Care: Highlights from a 2011 National Survey of Hospital Readiness to Participate in an ACO, A Commonwealth Fund Brief (HRET, published August 2012)
Advanced Illness Management (AIM) Strategies Part 1 (AHA Committee on Performance Improvement, published August 2012)
Palliative Care Services: Solutions for Better Patient Care and Today’s Health Care Delivery Challenges (HRET, published November 2012)
Advanced Illness Management (AIM) Strategies: Engaging the Community and a Ready, Willing and Able Workforce Part 2 (AHA Committee on Performance Improvement, published December 2012)