The mission, focus, strategic goals, and customers of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are summarized here.
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AHRQ Mission
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As one of 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services,. AHRQ supports health services research that will improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decisionmaking.
AHRQ Facts
Director: Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.
Agency Staff:
Approximately 300.
FY 2009 Budget:
$372 million.
Research: Approximately 80 percent of AHRQ's budget is invested in grants and contracts focused on improving health care.
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AHRQ's Focus and Strategic Goals
AHRQ is committed to improving care safety and quality by developing successful partnerships and generating the knowledge and tools required for long-term improvement. The goal of our research is measurable improvements in health care in America, gauged in terms of improved quality of life and patient outcomes, lives saved, and value gained for what we spend.
To achieve its goals, the Agency is committed to organizational excellence, the use of efficient and responsive business processes to maximize the Agency's resources and the effectiveness of its programs. Our overall focus is:
- Safety and quality: Reduce the risk of harm by promoting delivery of the best possible health care.
- Effectiveness: Improve health care outcomes by encouraging the use of evidence to make informed health care decisions.
- Efficiency: Transform research into practice to facilitate wider access to effective health care services and reduce unnecessary costs.
AHRQ's Customers
- Clinicians and other health care providers, such as hospitals.
- Consumers and patients.
- Health care policymakers at the Federal, State, and local levels.
- Purchasers and payers, such as employers and public and private insurers.
- Other health officials, such as hospital systems and medical school faculty.
For More Information
Select to find out more detailed information about AHRQ's Research Agenda.
To order Agency publications, contact AHRQ by calling the Clearinghouse toll free at 1-800-358-9295 or by E-mail (AHRQPubs@ahrq.hhs.gov). Call the AHRQ Clearinghouse to begin a free subscription to AHRQ's monthly research bulletin, Research Activities.
AHRQ Publication No. 09-P003
Current as of May 2009
Internet Citation:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) At A Glance.
AHRQ Publication No. 09-P003, May 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/about/ataglance.htm
540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850