HHS Agency Issues Request for Information on Clinical Decision Support Connect System

The Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a Request for Information (RFI) on June 3, 2024, soliciting proposals for strategies and approaches to advance shareable, interoperable, and reusable clinical decision support (CDS) resources. AHRQ is specifically seeking comment on models and possible partnerships to sustain the agency’s CDS Connect platform, a national hub that functions as a repository for CDS resources and facilitates dissemination, testing, and clinical implementation of such resources. AHRQ also seeks comment on strategies to make CDS more scalable, including through use of artificial intelligence (AI), in underserved settings that may lack resources to develop or purchase CDS. The RFI is an opportunity for interested stakeholders to shape the continued development of a national CDS platform, including through potential partnership with the agency. Comments are due by July 31, 2024.

AHRQ identifies several possible enhancements for CDS Connect, including:

• introducing AI into CDS Connect, ranging from AI-based mechanisms to develop CDS artifacts to using large language models and AI-based artifact maintenance
• creating processes, standards, and tools to assist and accelerate CDS development through successive levels of computability and readiness for real-world development
• integrating directly within electronic health record systems

AHRQ is exploring collaborative initiatives with private industry and others, including a possible public-private partnership, to continue CDS Connect’s operation and expansion. AHRQ seeks comments from stakeholders on the following specific questions:

• Expertise. What areas of expertise are essential for an organization to partner with AHRQ to grow and sustain CDS Connect?
• CDS Connect value proposition. What is the value of a platform like CDS Connect, and what should be done to improve its value to clinicians, patients, CDS developers, and other stakeholders?
• Governance. What governance structure and framework does the submitting organization envision for the proposed model? How would the proposed model operate, accounting for involvement of AHRQ, other federal agencies, and other external stakeholders?
• CDS Connect content. What modifications or enhancements should be made CDS Connect and its component tools? What infrastructure would need to be created to support these enhancements? What other suggestions does the submitting organization have to modify or enhance CDS Connect’s content and capabilities?
• Business model. What business model can ensure that CDS Connect remains sustainable? How can the model generate revenue to sustain the platform? What are the anticipated startup costs for the proposed model?
• General questions on CDS. How can CDS platforms become more interoperable and resuable? What are sustainable approaches for scaling CDS, including AI-based methods, to underserved settings that may not have the staff and resources to develop CDS on their own or to purchase CDS resources from health IT providers?

Comments are due by July 31, 2024.