Utilizing Health Information Technology to Scale and Spread Successful Practice Models Using Patient-reported Outcomes (R18) | PA 17 077

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 077

Utilizing Health Information Technology to Scale and Spread Successful Practice Models Using Patient-reported Outcomes (R18) (PA 17 077) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) that supports research focused on improving patient-centered outcomes and the quality of care in primary care and other ambulatory (outpatient) settings. The core idea behind this funding is not simply to build a new health IT tool from scratch, but to show, with rigorous research methods, how health information technology can help take practice models that already work and expand them to more sites, more clinicians, and more patients. A defining feature of the FOA is the expectation that the practice models being scaled and spread are health IT-enabled and that they use patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures as a key mechanism for improving care.

Projects under this announcement are meant to demonstrate how PROs can be collected and used in real-world care to drive better decisions, better communication, and better outcomes that matter to patients. PRO measures are reports coming directly from patients about their health status, symptoms, functioning, or quality of life, without interpretation by clinicians. In the context of this FOA, PROs are not treated as a side research survey; they are intended to be integrated into routine clinical workflows, captured via health IT (for example, electronic health records, patient portals, mobile tools, or other digital systems), and used to guide care in a way that is measurable and replicable. The emphasis on scale and spread signals that AHRQ is looking for implementation-focused research that can show how an effective model performs when expanded across settings, including what it takes to implement it, what barriers arise, how workflows change, and whether outcomes and quality improvements hold up outside of a single pilot site.

The activity category is listed as Health, and the funding instrument is a grant using the R18 mechanism, which typically supports research in health services and health care delivery, including demonstration and evaluation projects. The FOA is aimed at primary care and other ambulatory environments, which can include outpatient specialty clinics, community health centers, and similar non-inpatient settings where ongoing patient monitoring and follow-up are essential. The intended impact is improved patient-centered health outcomes and improved quality of care, with health IT functioning as the enabler that makes PRO-driven models feasible at scale. In practice, applicants would be expected to show not only that a PRO-enabled approach is beneficial, but also how the technology and implementation strategy allow it to be adopted broadly and sustained across organizations.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes state governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and other eligible entities. The FOA explicitly calls out additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and eligible agencies of the federal government. At the same time, it clearly limits foreign participation: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the HHS Grants Policy Statement, may still be involved, but only as part of a consortium or as subcontractors rather than as the primary applicant organization.

From a funding details standpoint, the opportunity is identified under CFDA 93.226, with an award ceiling of $750,000. The source data also lists an original closing date of January 25, 2021, and shows the FOA creation date as December 12, 2016. The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided listing. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as supporting applied, real-world research that proves how PRO-centered, health IT-enabled care models can be expanded and replicated to improve outcomes and care quality across outpatient healthcare delivery, with strong attention to practical implementation and measurable patient-centered results.

• The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Utilizing Health Information Technology to Scale and Spread Successful Practice Models Using Patient-reported Outcomes (R18)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.226.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-01-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

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