Frequently Asked Questions

Check to find the answers to your questions about the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) programs and activities. You can search by category or key words. You can also send us your questions or website feedback here. We will respond to your requests based on the best available scientific evidence and research from our Agency.

AHRQ cannot provide diagnoses or specific medical advice to individuals on their personal health conditions and situations.

Ask a question, report a problem, or give us your opinion about a specific AHRQ program.


 

The Patient Safety Act provides broad privilege and confidentiality protections to specific types of information called "patient safety work product" (PSWP) developed when a provider works with a PSO. All information in PSWP is confidential and privileged, including the reporting provider, any provider named in the report, and the provider facility where the event took place. Subject to certain specific exceptions, PSWP may not be disclosed. For example, it cannot be shared in criminal, civil, administrative, or disciplinary proceedings—unless one of the specific exceptions applies. To protect the patient, the Patient Safety Act also references the Standards for the Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA Privacy Rule).

TeamSTEPPS in-person training sessions are no longer available.

Information about the self-paced online course is available on the TeamSTEPPS site, or download the mobile Pocket Guide app.

The information on the About TeamSTEPPS page also provides guidelines about your organization's readiness to implement TeamSTEPPS.

Print copies of the ESI Triage Tool and other ESI materials are no longer available.

PDFs of the ESI materials can be downloaded from the AHRQ website at https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/hospital/esi/. The videos linked on the ESI page are the videos that were formerly available on the DVD.

You are encouraged to contact the responsible office or staff, if known, to discuss the concern. Several AHRQ programs have help and question lines already established.

If you do not know specifically whom to call, contact Wendy Perry in the Executive Secretary's Office to direct you. She can be reached by phone at (301) 427-1216 or by email at: Wendy.Perry@ahrq.hhs.gov.

If the concern cannot be resolved informally and you feel a correction is warranted, there is a formal process in place for requesting review and corrections. This process grew out of an initiative led by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure the quality of all information disseminated by Federal agencies. The process for filing a formal complaint can be found on the Information Quality Guidelines page.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is one of 11 operating divisions in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). AHRQ is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of America's health care system. AHRQ develops the knowledge, tools, and data needed to help Americans, health care professionals, and policymakers make informed health decisions. AHRQ works with HHS and other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used in an effort to achieve the goals of better care, smarter spending, and healthier people.

For more information, visit the AHRQ Profile page.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.

For more information, go to the About AHRQ page.

AHRQ is part of the U.S. Federal Government under the Department Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is funded through a combination of funds from our Congressional budget authority and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund.

For more information about AHRQ's funding, go to the Mission and Budget page.

All official requests must be signed by an authorized institutional official. Requests should be submitted formally to your grants management specialist and include as a reference the grant number and principal investigator (PI). Requests may be submitted by email.

Please factor in sufficient time for a response, particularly toward the end of a current grant budget period.

When a trainee needs to take a leave of absence, complete the documentation to suspend the period of appointment and submit an amended statement of appointment and a termination notice. If the student returns to the program within the same budget period of the grant, complete and submit a new reappointment form. The student can complete their training, based on funding-levels provided to them prior to departure. However, the policy differs if the student does not plan on returning to the program until the following grant budget period. In such situations, the program needs to use one of its available slots in the forthcoming year for the student and any unused funds accruing from the previous year go into the program's unobligated balance.

Federal Financial Reports (FFR) for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) T32s, which all have budget period end dates of June 30, are due by September 30. If the FFR is late, a program runs the risk of not receiving an award for the following budget period.


Ask a question, report a problem, or give us your opinion about a specific AHRQ program.