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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

 

 
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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), is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services

The United States Department of Health and Human Services , is a United States Cabinet department of the United States government of the United States with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services....
 which supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care
Health care

File:Ear surgery on a patient.jpgFile:Monoclonal antibodies3.jpgHealth care, or healthcare, refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the Medicine, pharmaceutical, Dentistry, clinical laboratory sciences , nursing, and allied health professions....
, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective services. It sponsors, conducts, and disseminates research to help people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.

AHRQ's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare for Americans.






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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research), is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services

The United States Department of Health and Human Services , is a United States Cabinet department of the United States government of the United States with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services....
 which supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care
Health care

File:Ear surgery on a patient.jpgFile:Monoclonal antibodies3.jpgHealth care, or healthcare, refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the Medicine, pharmaceutical, Dentistry, clinical laboratory sciences , nursing, and allied health professions....
, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective services. It sponsors, conducts, and disseminates research to help people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.

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

Quality indicators

The agency defines Quality Indicators (QIs) to measure health care quality based upon readily available hospital inpatient administrative data. These indicators consist of four modules measuring various aspects of quality:

  1. Prevention quality indicator (PQI) identify hospital admissions that evidence suggests could have been avoided, at least in part, through high-quality outpatient care.
  2. In-patient quality indicator (IQI) reflect quality of care inside hospitals including inpatient mortality
    Death

    Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a life organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby....
     for medical conditions and surgical procedures.
  3. Patient safety indicators (PSI) also reflect quality of care inside hospitals, but focus on potentially avoidable complications
    Complication (medicine)

    Complication, in medicine, is an unfavorable evolution of a disease, a health condition or a medical treatment. The disease can become worse in its severity or show a higher number of signs, symptoms or new pathology changes, become widespread throughout the body or affect other organ systems....
     and iatrogenic events.
  4. Pediatric quality indicator include the above indicators related to the pediatric
    Pediatrics

    Differences between adult and pediatric medicinePediatrics differs from adult medicine in many respects. The obvious body size differences are paralleled by maturational changes....
     population.


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 information technology
Information technology

Information technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to data conv...
 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 produces an 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.

See also

  • Anesthesia
    Anesthesia

    Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , has traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away. This allows patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience....
  • Medicine
    Medicine

    Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
  • Perioperative mortality
    Perioperative mortality

    Perioperative mortality is death in relation to surgery, usually taken as death within two weeks of a surgical procedure. One of the vital steps in the decision to perform a surgical procedure is to weigh the benefits against the risks....
  • Surgery
    Surgery

    Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
  • Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)
    Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)

    A Partnership for Better Surgical CareThe Surgical Care Improvement Project partnership is a multi-year national campaign, which began in August 2005 to substantially reduce surgical mortality and morbidity through collaborative efforts....
  • Patient safety
    Patient safety

    Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often lead to Adverse effect ....


External links

  • from The Federal Register