The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), through its Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs), sponsors the development of evidence reports and technology assessments to assist public- and private-sector organizations in their efforts to improve the quality of healthcare in the United States.

In fiscal year 2020, Congress requested that AHRQ convene a panel of experts charged with developing quality measures for malnutrition-related hospital readmissions. These measures would be intended to support assigning accountability for the assessment and treatment of malnutrition in hospitalized adults, with an emphasis on the needs of older frail adults. This systematic review is intended to support the efforts of the panel.

The reports and assessments provide organizations with comprehensive, evidence-based information on common medical conditions and new healthcare technologies and strategies. They also identify research gaps in the selected scientific area, identify methodologic and scientific weaknesses, suggest research needs, and move the field forward through an unbiased, evidence-based assessment of the available literature. The EPCs systematically review the relevant scientific literature on topics assigned to them by AHRQ and conduct additional analyses when appropriate prior to developing their reports and assessments.

To bring the broadest range of experts into the development of evidence reports and health technology assessments, AHRQ encourages the EPCs to form partnerships and enter into collaborations with other medical and research organizations. The EPCs work with these partner organizations to ensure that the evidence reports and technology assessments they produce will become building blocks for healthcare quality improvement projects throughout the Nation. The reports undergo peer review and public comment prior to their release as a final report.

AHRQ expects that the EPC evidence reports and technology assessments, when appropriate, will inform individual health plans, providers, and purchasers as well as the healthcare system as a whole by providing important information to help improve healthcare quality.

If you have comments on this evidence report, they may be sent by mail to the Task Order Officer named below at: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, or by email to vog.shh.qrha@cpe.

• David Meyers, M.D.
  Acting Director
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Craig Umscheid, M.D., M.S.
  Director, Evidence-based Practice Center Program
  Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Arlene S. Bierman, M.D., M.S.
  Director
  Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Jill Huppert, M.D., M.P.H.
  Task Order Officer
  Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality