AHCPR Becomes AHRQ, But Call It ARC

ROCKVILLE, Md—An old agency has a new name. On orders from Congress, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) is now the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), pronounced “arc.”

The change in name—and the spelling of health care—was directed in the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999, which designated AHRQ as the lead agency in supporting federal research and efforts to improve health care quality.