Carolyn M. Clancy, MD
Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

I'm Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, also known as AHRQ. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to attend our third annual conference, which will be held September 13th through 16th at the Bethesda North Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, MD.

The theme of the conference is, "Research to Reform: Achieving Health System Change." Our goal is to bring you together with many of the experts in the research and policy communities at a time when the country is engaged in the first serious national discussion on health care in more than a decade.

We have a lot to discuss.

Since reform is the order of the day – and is likely to remain front and center for some time – the conference is set up for allowing you to delve into the specifics of the broader range of topics that are addressed in virtually every current proposal for health care change. You will have opportunities to explore the latest in health care infrastructure, new strategies for promoting provider performance and payment reform, campaigns for increasing the involvement of Americans in their own care, and much, much more.

And, of course, we are very excited about the new opportunities that will result from the expanded comparative effectiveness funding that is included in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act signed by President Obama in February. We are gearing up to make the most of this funding, and we're looking forward to sharing our plans and activities with you.

The Recovery Act also includes increased funding for health information technology, and at the conference you will hear about a lot of our work in our rapidly expanding health IT portfolio, as well as all that is taking place across the Agency.

We'll also feature interactive displays of AHRQ products and tools, along with research posters, in the exhibit area that we call the mAHRQet Place Café.

And, as usual, we always encourage you to be an active participant. With more than 100 pre-conference and conference sessions and meetings, we hope to give you every opportunity to have your questions answered, and your ideas and input heard. Your voice is more important now than ever.

So, register today and join us in September at the third AHRQ Annual Conference! You'll be glad you did.