Patient Safety Learning Laboratories (2019): Pursuing Safety in Diagnosis and Treatment at the Intersection of Design, Systems Engineering, and Health Services Research (R18) | RFA HS 19 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HS 19 001

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offered this discretionary R18 grant opportunity, titled "Patient Safety Learning Laboratories (2019): Pursuing Safety in Diagnosis and Treatment at the Intersection of Design, Systems Engineering, and Health Services Research," under funding opportunity number RFA-HS-19-001 (CFDA 93.226). The core idea is to fund the creation and use of Patient Safety Learning Laboratories: real-world sites and multi-organization networks where transdisciplinary teams work together to reduce serious harm and high costs linked to problems in diagnosis and treatment. Rather than focusing on small, isolated fixes, the program emphasizes tackling clusters of closely related threats that routinely derail diagnostic accuracy or safe treatment, especially those with a large patient safety burden.

A defining feature of the program is its explicit reliance on systems engineering methods and design-oriented problem solving. Applicants are expected to bring together people who do not typically share the same workflow or vocabulary (for example, clinicians, human factors experts, systems engineers, informaticians, designers, and health services researchers) and then use approaches common in other safety-critical industries. That includes structured brainstorming, rapid prototyping, and iterative refinement, with the goal of producing practical, implementable solutions that improve how care is actually delivered. The learning laboratory model is meant to push beyond traditional professional silos, so teams can redesign processes, tools, technologies, and organizational routines in a coordinated way.

The development pathway described in the opportunity is staged and iterative. Teams first identify priority diagnostic or treatment safety threats that are connected and collectively drive harm and cost. They then generate innovative design concepts and build prototypes quickly, followed by cycles of develop-test-revise to strengthen what looks most promising. Those prototypes are not intended to remain standalone demonstrations; they are expected to be integrated into a working system (meaning a coherent set of processes, roles, technologies, and supports that can operate in practice). After integration and additional improvement, the program expects an evaluation of the resulting system in a realistic environment, such as a high-fidelity simulation or a clinical setting, to assess whether it actually improves safety outcomes under real-world conditions.

Eligibility is broad across public and private sectors, reflecting the program's interest in partnerships and implementation capacity. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and eligible federal government agencies.

At the same time, the opportunity draws a firm boundary around non-U.S. participation as the applicant organization. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. In practical terms, the funded learning laboratories and their operational components are expected to be U.S.-based.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on 2019-01-31, with an original application closing date of 2019-03-31. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided source fields, but it clearly frames the purpose and the methodological expectations: create learning laboratories that use systems engineering and design to generate, refine, integrate, and evaluate solutions that measurably improve the safety of diagnosis and treatment where the stakes are highest.

• The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Patient Safety Learning Laboratories (2019): Pursuing Safety in Diagnosis and Treatment at the Intersection of Design, Systems Engineering, and Health Services Research (R18)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.226.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-01-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-03-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA HS 19 001

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