Overview

The U.S. health care system is considered by many to be the finest in the world. Americans are living longer, healthier lives, thanks to significant advances in biomedical and health services research. The translation of research findings into clinical practice has raised awareness of the importance of appropriate preventive services-such as timely screenings for cancer, heart disease, and other serious conditions-and the crucial role that sustaining a healthy lifestyle plays in maintaining health and enhancing quality of life. However, our health care system faces many challenges, including improving the quality and safety of health care, ensuring access to care, increasing value for health care, reducing disparities, increasing the use of health information technology, and finding new avenues to translate research into practice. We have made progress in meeting these challenges, but we can and must do better. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-one of the 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services-plays an important role in responding to the challenges faced by our health care system. The Agency's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans and support efforts to translate research into practice. One of the ways we fulfill this mission is to conduct and support health services research that: Reduces the risk of harm from health care services by using evidence-based research and technology to promote the delivery of the best possible care; Transforms research into practice to achieve wider access of effective health care services and reduce unnecessary health care costs; Improves health care outcomes by encouraging providers, consumers, and patients to use evidence-based information to make informed treatment choices/decisions. The Agency's research agenda is user-driven-that is, AHRQ actively responds to the needs of its customers and we work with the users of our research to help them make measurable differences in the health care system. In 2005, AHRQ's research agenda reflected a shift in the scope and nature of health services research to emphasize the translation of research into practice. Our goal is to make an impact on health care and the health care system. Providers, purchasers, policymakers, researchers, and the public all need evidence-based information that not only identifies problems with patient safety, quality, and disparities in health care, but also offers solutions. This report presents key findings from AHRQ's 2005 research portfolio. It highlights the advances made and our progress in moving from research to practice.

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