Feeling Energized After Another Successful AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting

I have been contemplating the 2024 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM), held this year in Baltimore, since its conclusion ten days ago.  I hope all attendees had as enjoyable and thought-provoking experience as I had. Congratulations to AcademyHealth for hosting a well-organized meeting with stimulating, informative presentations.

For the first time, AHRQ’s National Advisory Council (NAC) held its summer meeting in conjunction with the ARM. This fortuitous overlap provided synergy in our organizations’ shared goal of improving healthcare by advancing healthcare progress through the scientific enterprise of health services research. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra underscored that theme in videotaped remarks during ARM's opening plenary session. He also noted AHRQ’s 35th anniversary and welcomed Dr. Aaron Carroll as the new president and CEO of AcademyHealth. 

At a time when AHRQ celebrates its anniversary as an independent science agency, my message for the NAC and ARM participants was fundamental: We must not be content to do health services research that identifies problems in our healthcare delivery systems, but rather engage in health services research that offers actionable solutions to challenges facing healthcare executives, clinicians, and policymakers. I was gratified to confirm that many of our peers agreed with that objective.

I thank Dr. Carroll for sharing his vision for AcademyHealth and the future of health services research with the NAC. The discussion was robust, and in a future blog post, Dr. Carroll and I hope to share ideas on how our organizations will collaborate to improve healthcare quality.

AHRQ’s participation in this year’s ARM included two special sessions: 

• Innovations and Actions for Addressing Emergency Department Crowding addressed the consequences of this global phenomenon, including draining health system resources, causing workforce burnout, and creating risks for patient and workforce safety. Speakers articulated the problem’s scope and the inequity of its impact. They also presented current efforts to address the issue, shared implications for diverse populations, and called for continued engagement, action, and systematic change. The discussion provided fodder for future considerations and potential strategies to address this critical issue.
• The Modernization of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) outlined AHRQ’s efforts to enhance one of our nation’s most valuable data resources. Established in 1996, MEPS data analysis offers the nation’s most complete information on how Americans use health services, how frequently they use them, the cost of these services, and how they are paid for. Panelists provided valuable suggestions to improve MEPS design, increase engagement among survey respondents, and focus on collecting data deemed most important to MEPS users in “real-time.”

As we have come to expect from ARM audiences, we received excellent questions and suggestions during both sessions. I want to thank AHRQ staff members who produced these outstanding sessions, additional sessions, and poster presentations. 

AcademyHealth’s annual meeting is always invigorating—an exciting opportunity to learn about the newest innovations in health services research, engage in hallway discussions, and contemplate prospects for improving healthcare delivery for all Americans.

Dr. Valdez is director of AHRQ.

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