The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, is in line to have its entire budget eliminated in the proposed House of Representatives appropriations bill. Most Americans may have never heard of the AHRQ, but many of you have seen some of the recommendations from this group. Many of these decisions, based on the best available data, are politically unpopular, but go a long ways towards helping physicians like myself make better health care decisions for and with our patients. I struggled all day today trying to think of how to write a compelling post that would not sound like just one more special interest crying out when my share of the needed budget savings was being targeted as a means of deficit cutting. Not to fear, Kenny Lin M.D, author of Common Sense Family Doc blog has done the writing for me. This is a must read post. Check it out:
How politically unpopular research from AHRQ helps us make better medical decisions by Kenny Lin MD
The health services research world is reeling today from the inclusion of draft language in a House of Representatives appropriations bill that would eliminate the entire budget of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality starting on October 1, 2012. read more
Take the advice of Dr. Lin and contact your congressperson today to ask them to preserve the AHRQ and its important work.