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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective services. The research sponsored, conducted, and disseminated by AHRQ provides information that helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services. It is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

AHRQ's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare for all Americans. The Agency is led by director Carolyn Clancy, M.D.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Quality Indicators (QIs) are measures of health care quality that make use of readily available hospital inpatient administrative data.

The AHRQ QIs consist of four modules measuring various aspects of quality:

1. PREVENTION QUALITY INDICATORS identify hospital admissions that evidence suggests could have been avoided, at least in part, through high-quality outpatient care.

2. INPATIENT QUALITY INDICATORS reflect quality of care inside hospitals including inpatient mortality for medical conditions and surgical procedures.

3. PATIENT SAFETY INDICATORS also reflect quality of care inside hospitals, but focus on potentially avoidable complications and iatrogenic events.

4. PEDIATRIC QUALITY INDICATORS include IQIs, PQIs and PSIs relatd to the pediatric population.

The AHRQ Quality Indicators web site is:

http://QualityIndicators.AHRQ.gov

The Un-Official AHRQ Quality Indicators user forum can be found at:

http://winqi-users.dyndns.org:8081/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl

In 2004, AHRQ expanded its support of health information technology initiatives by creating a National Resource Center for Health Information Technology and awarding more than $130 million in grants and contracts for various health IT projects. The aim of the awards and resource center is to enhance the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care through the use of technology.


Healthcare 411

AHRQ has produced a new audio newscast series to help keep people informed of the Agency's latest health care research findings, news, and information. The audio programs feature current news and information from the Agency. AHRQ's mission is to improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. They are the lead federal government agency in the effort to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors. The Healthcare 411 Audio Series Directory is available free of charge to the public at http://www.healthcare411.org/. The newscasts can be heard through a computer or downloaded to a portable digital player such as an iPod.

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