Patient Safety Research Summaries
As the lead federal agency for advancing patient safety, AHRQ invests in research and implementation projects that bridge the gap between research and the delivery of safer patient care. AHRQ-Funded Patient Safety Project Highlights reflect the work of agency grantees and contractors. Organized by theme, the summaries provide brief descriptions of individual projects as well as research highlights.
AHRQ-Funded Patient Safety Project Highlights
- Improving Healthcare Safety by Supporting Measure Development (April 2025) (PDF, 1.6 MB): Measure development is a critical process for creating and refining metrics and indicators to assess aspects of healthcare quality, safety, effectiveness, and performance. From 2000 through 2024, AHRQ supported 192 patient safety projects related to measure development.
- Improving Healthcare Safety by Engaging Patients and Families (updated April 2025) (PDF, 1 MB): Research has shown that involving patients, families, and caregivers in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of care can improve safety and quality. Since 2000, AHRQ has supported 71 patient safety projects related to increasing patient and family engagement.
- Improving Healthcare Safety by Enhancing Healthcare Facility Design (updated April 2025) (PDF, 1 MB): Research has shown that optimizing the physical, functional, and aesthetic details of healthcare facilities (e.g., units, rooms, equipment, logistics, and technologies) can improve patient outcomes, reduce injuries and hospital-associated infections (HAIs), and increase provider satisfaction. Since 2000, AHRQ has supported 19 patient safety projects related to improving healthcare facility design.
- Improving Patient Safety by Enhancing Medication Safety (August 2024) (PDF, 1 MB). Medication safety refers to the practices and measures implemented to minimize the risk of medication errors and adverse drug events in various settings across the healthcare continuum. It is a critical process for protecting patients from harm and improving healthcare quality. Since 2000, AHRQ has supported 123 patient safety projects related to medication safety.
- Improving Healthcare Safety by Enhancing Health Information Technology and Health Information Exchange (updated July 2024) (PDF, 1 MB): Research has shown that health information technology (HIT) and health information exchange (HIE) make it possible for healthcare providers to safely and securely access and share information about a patient’s health, such as patient history, vital signs, diagnoses, medications, and disease progression. Since 2000, AHRQ has supported 42 patient safety projects related to HIT and HIE.
- Improving Patient Safety by Enhancing Care Coordination (updated May 2025) (PDF, 994 KB): Care coordination is defined as the process of organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all individuals concerned with a patient’s care to achieve safe and effective care. Since 2000, AHRQ has supported 47 patient safety projects related to enhancing care coordination.
- Improving Healthcare Safety by Enhancing Teamwork and Leadership (updated April 2024) (PDF, 1 MB): Research shows that improved teamwork reduces the number of medical errors and improves patient safety. Since 2000, AHRQ has supported 55 patient safety projects to improve communication between healthcare providers and leadership skills among those in charge.
