AHRQ at a Glance

The mission, focus, strategic goals, and customers of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are summarized here.

AHRQ Mission

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As 1 of 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports research that helps people make more informed decisions and improves the quality of health care services.

AHRQ Facts

Director: Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.
Acting Deputy Director: Boyce Ginieczki, Ph.D.
Agency Staff: Approximately 300.
Fiscal year 2011 Budget: $372 million
Fiscal year 2012 Budget: $405 million
Research: Approximately 80 percent of AHRQ's budget is invested in grants and contracts focused on improving health care.

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 central 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 mission, the Agency is committed to organizational excellence and 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

To learn more about AHRQ, visit our Web site at http://www.ahrq.gov.

Current as of September 2012
Internet Citation: AHRQ at a Glance. September 2012. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/about/mission/glance/index.html