The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality plans to interview 15 experts from outside the health care industry to determine the best strategies for designing consumer-focused health IT tools, Health Data Management reports.
AHRQ outlined its plans in a Federal Register notice published Thursday.
Impetus for Project
In the notice, the agency said that consumers have yet to adopt health IT tools to the same degree that they have adopted technologies marketed by other industries.
AHRQ noted that the health IT market "lacks robust tools that allow for the complexity and diversity of personal health information management practices" (Goedert, Health Data Management, 1/26).
Project Details
In the notice, AHRQ asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to approve a data collection project, which would involve interviews with design, management and marketing experts for consumer products that would be relevant to health IT products.
AHRQ plans to conduct the project under contract with research organization Westat and the University of Wisconsin. The project's estimated cost is $409,388.
AHRQ is accepting public comment on the proposed project through March 28 (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 1/27).
The agency said it hopes the expert recommendations will help health IT vendors improve the design, development and marketability of consumer health IT products (Health Data Management, 1/26).