In 2004, the

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is headquartered i ...

of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

created th
AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology
(the National Resource Center or NRC) to support over 125 federal grants and contracts that are demonstrating the value and implementation of information technology in health care (health information technology). With leadership from the

National Opinion Research Center NORC at the University of Chicago is one of the largest independent social research organizations in the United States. Established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, its corporate headquarters is located in downtown Chicago, with o ...

(NORC), th
Regenstrief Institute
th
Vanderbilt Center for Better Health
th
Center for IT Leadership (CITL)
and th
eHealth Initiative
the NRC monitors and provides technical assistance to federal grants that are implementing technologies such as

Electronic health record An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...

s, Computerized Physician Order Entry,

Health information exchange Health information exchange (HIE) is the mobilization of health care information electronically across organizations within a region, community or hospital system. Participants in data exchange are called in the aggregate Health Information Netw ...

(HIE) and Telemedicine. The NRC directs almost half of its efforts and funding towards monitoring health IT development in rural communities. In addition to its support of federal grants and agencies, the National Resource Center disseminates knowledge and best practices observed by the projects it supports. By way of the NRC's web site, health providers, administrators and researchers share lessons learned for how best to improve health care quality, safety, and efficiency in the United States through successful health IT adoption and usage. The NRC does not provide grant money to individuals or organizations to do research in the fields of

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

health informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

. The NRC does provide, however, free educational resources and events where theory and case examples are presented by researchers active in these fields.

External links

National Resource Center for Health Information TechnologyAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)Glossary of Health Care Informatics Terms
United States Department of Health and Human Services {{US-gov-stub

See also

External links