AHRQ Seeks Solution to Sickle Cell Care Transitions

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is in the early stages of developing software to improve transitions of care for adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease, and seeks public comment.

“As recently as 30 years ago, children with SCD usually did not survive into adulthood,” AHRQ says in a published notice. “Now, as a result of advances in screening and treatment, more than 90 percent of individuals with SCD reach adulthood, and life expectancy is typically into the fifth decade.”

Few SCD patients have access to effective care transition programs, AHRQ contends, and preliminary evidence suggests that health information technology can help. The agency is asking for comments to inform development of a set of requirements to guide design and develop of an HIT transition management tool, and develop an understanding of the environmental context, current facilitators and barriers, health data use, and needs of key stakeholders affected by sickle cell disease.

The notice is available here.