Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Web site.

evaluation presented is comprehensive and data based. Not only are you able to view what has been evaluated but you are also able to see what technology is currently in progress. The reviews are available to be downloaded in a variety of formats. This is an excellent site to recommend to colleagues and coworkers, especially someone who likes to adopt new technology or is the person who regularly brings innovative ideas and articles or advertisements on the “latest” medical device. These early adopters are great resources and interested in seeing what is new and how it has been assessed. Progressing on to the National Guideline Clearinghouse, you access evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. This site is an excellent resource and includes U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisories. A feature I particularly find useful is the ability to browse on the basis of the following classifications: Disease/ Condition, Treatment/Intervention, Measures/Tools, Organization, Guideline Index, Guidelines In Progress, or Guideline Archive. This enables me to go directly to a certain treatment or intervention or to see what a selected organization recommends. In the previous issue (March/April 2008) a toolkit for diabetes was reviewed. The Web site (http://www.ahrq. gov/qual/pips/) is an excellent resource for the toolkits that have been produced under the AHRQ Partnerships in Implementing Patient Safety (PIPS) grant program. This site can be You may be familiar with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a section of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but you may not have gone to the Web site lately (http://www. ahrq.gov). A vast array of information related to healthcare excellence (as the banner states) is available via this Web site. The information is based on research findings and literature reviews. Experts in the various fields conduct focused studies, review the current available research and literature, and present an evaluation of the subject on the basis of the evidence available. The subjects are numerous and wide ranging. Located on the home page are the entry points divided into the following categories: clinical information; funding opportunities; research findings; specific populations; consumers and patients; data and survey; and quality and patient data. As you scan the list of entry points, let me highlight a few that are less well known. Under Clinical Information you can access evidenced-based care; outcomes and effectiveness; effective healthcare technology assessment; preventive services; clinical practice guidelines; and the national guideline clearinghouse. Within this grouping, one area to highlight is the Effective Healthcare Technology Assessment. The fact that the government-sponsored technology assessment programs may not be widely known, but the information available is very useful when the introduction of new technologies or new medical interventions is under consideration or being pilot tested. This site is an excellent resource to see whether the proposed technology has been evaluated and what objective information is available. As seen below, the impetus for this evaluation is to inform coverage decisions for Medicare and Medicaid, but all can benefit.