Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is a pivotal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) dedicated to improving the safety and quality of the health care system. AHRQ achieves its mission by conducting research that makes health care more accessible, equitable, and affordable and ensures that the American people receive the best care possible.

History

AHRQ was established in December 1989 as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. Its initial mandate was to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services. In 1999, the agency was reauthorized and renamed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to reflect its broader mission of improving health care quality after research.

Mission and Goals

The mission of AHRQ is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to ensure that the evidence is understood and used. Its goals include improving health care quality by making health care more patient-centered, reliable, accessible, and safe.

Research Initiatives

AHRQ funds research that helps people make more informed decisions and improves the quality of health care services. The agency's research priorities include:

• Patient Safety: Enhancing the safety of health care by reducing the risks of injury and errors in the provision of care.
• Health Care Quality: Improving health care quality by promoting health care that is effective, efficient, equitable, and timely.
• Health Care Delivery System: Improving the ways health care services are organized, managed, and delivered.
• Health Information Technology (IT): Promoting the use of health IT to improve the quality of health care, reduce medical errors, and enhance health care service delivery.

Programs and Services

AHRQ supports health services research initiatives that seek to improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decision-making through programs such as:

• Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs): Develop evidence reports and technology assessments on clinical, social science/behavioral, economic, and other health care issues.
• Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP): Provides comprehensive hospital data on inpatient care, emergency department visits, and ambulatory surgery.
• Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS): Collects data on the cost and use of health care and health insurance coverage.
• Patient Safety Network (PSNet): A national web-based resource featuring the latest news and essential resources on patient safety.

Impact

AHRQ's research and programs have significantly impacted how health care is delivered in the United States. The agency's work has led to the development of tools and resources that help health care providers deliver better care, informed policy decisions, and improved health care outcomes for millions of Americans.

See Also

• Health care in the United States
• Patient safety
• Health information technology
• Evidence-based medicine