Guiding principles for evaluating tertiary health care resources: The A2C2QUIRE framework

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionDrug information, medical, and other resources, in the form of textbooks, online databases, and mobile applications (apps), are commonly consulted by health care professionals when providing answers to drug information questions or researching information prior to making recommendations for patient care. Thus, there is a need to train health care professionals on how to identify high‐quality resources to ensure patient safety and improve patient care. Given the variety of different resource types available in contemporary health care settings, a framework that can be universally applied to a variety of different resources is needed.ObjectiveThe primary objective of this paper is to introduce health care professionals to a unified framework for evaluating all types of tertiary health care resources that takes into account practical and contemporary considerations. The A2C2QUIRE framework centers around three main tenets: quality, functionality, and practical considerations, and specifically addresses the following components: Authorship and publisher, Accessibility, Currency of information, Cost and value of materials, Quality of content, Usability and resource design, Intent of the resource, Review process, and Endorsements.ConclusionThe foundational concepts reviewed in this paper provide health care professionals with a unified framework for assessing the quality of various types of resources, while also incorporating practical and contemporary considerations.