health
Trump is laying waste to the agency that keeps hospital patients safe
Few have heard of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, but it has saved tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars
TL;DR
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded a national effort that reduced central-line bloodstream infections by 41%, averting hundreds of deaths.
- AHRQ's work has also been credited with preventing over 20,000 deaths and saving billions of dollars through its broader efforts on hospital-acquired harm.
- The agency developed patient-experience surveys used by Medicare and quality indicators for regulators, and produced team-communication training for medical professionals.
- Despite congressional appropriations, AHRQ's grant-making has ceased, with most staff departing or being fired since Donald Trump took office.
- Numerous research grants were cut, including those focused on high-risk pregnancies, reducing unnecessary CT scans in children, early lung cancer detection, and rural telehealth.
- The agency director stated resources were being redirected to patient safety, antibiotic resistance, and other outcomes, but many canceled grants pursued these exact objectives.
- There are legal challenges to the agency's actions, with lawsuits alleging unlawful impoundment of funds and a federal judge ruling against canceling awards over new priorities.
- The dismantling of AHRQ is occurring with little public notice, despite its significant, often unseen, impact on patient safety, at a cost of about one dollar per American annually.