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DURHAM, N.C. -- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has selected Duke University Medical Center to conduct studies designed to promote better patient outcomes by testing which treatments work best for particular health conditions. The agency named 13 centers as part of its new Effective Health Care Program.

David Matchar, M.D., director of the Center for Clinical Health Policy Research, will lead Duke's effort.

Collectively known as DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness), the research centers will carry out accelerated studies, including research aimed at filling knowledge gaps about treatment effectiveness. Operating under strict procedures to guarantee privacy and security, DEcIDE centers will use data available through insurers, health plans and other partner organizations to answer questions about the use, benefits and risks of medications and other therapies.

The $15 million AHRQ program will support the development of new scientific information through research on the outcomes of health care services and therapies, including drugs. By reviewing and synthesizing published and unpublished scientific studies, as well as identifying important issues where existing evidence is insufficient, the program will help provide clinicians and patients with better information for making treatment decisions. Initial reports from the new program are expected this fall.

The 13 entities named by AHRQ to receive contracts as DEcIDE research centers are:

•Acumen, LLC, Burlingame, Calif;
•Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston;
•Duke University, Durham, N.C.;
•Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston;
•Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore;
•Outcome Sciences, Cambridge, Mass.;
•RTI International, Research Triangle Park, N.C.;
•University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, Colo;
•University of Illinois at Chicago;
•University of Maryland at Baltimore;
•University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C.;
•University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia;
•Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.;

More information about the program is available at www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.