The purpose of this funding announcement is to invite proposals focused on understanding and improving diagnostic safety in the heterogenous ambulatory care environment. AHRQ is interested in learning the incidence and contributory factors of diagnostic error within and across the array of ambulatory care services. The purpose of this R01 NOFO is to invite proposals applications focused on Understanding and Improving Diagnostic Safety in Ambulatory Care: Incidence and Contributing Factors. Ambulatory care is defined as medical services performed on an outpatient basis, without admission to a hospital or other facility.

Ambulatory care settings are highly diverse in provider types, services, and patient populations, which has changed the scope of clinical practice. Ambulatory care now includes mobile care, retail clinics, urgent care, free-standing emergency departments, high tech centers, the internet, computers, smart phones and convenient care. Providers in these practices have different expectations, skills sets, and knowledge bases regarding diagnostic safety, compared to hospital-based providers. Applicants are encouraged to put in place a team with unique investigator skills outside of traditional hospital medical fields that will contribute to the research in diagnostic safety.

As there has been little study of diagnostic safety in many areas of ambulatory care, researchers are encouraged first to investigate the incidence and contributory factors of diagnostic error.