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´óÏóÊÓƵwas originally created as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) on December 19, 1989, under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (103 Stat. 2159), as a Public Health Service Agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Agency was reauthorized with a name change as the ´óÏóÊÓƵ on December 6, 1999, under the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999.

Additional information on public records for ´óÏóÊÓƵand its predecessor agencies in health services research is available from the National Archives and Records Administration at: .

It depends on the specific cost. Overall, these guidelines apply:

• "Trainee costs" (stipend, tuition/ fees) cannot be rebudgeted into other budget categories (i.e. travel, Training-Related Expenses) without prior approval or without sufficient funds available to fill approved slots.
• Grantees can rebudget into or within "Trainee costs" (stipend, tuition/fees) without prior approval; however, the funds cannot be used to augment stipends beyond established levels.
• Travel and Training-Related Expenses can be rebudgeted into or within all budget categories without prior approval; however, the funds cannot be used to augment stipends beyond established levels.

Trainees can be appointed at any time during a budget period, and must be appointed for an entire 12-month appointment period, even when that period goes beyond the end of the budget period. When making an appointment, the entire 12-month stipend and tuition is charged to the grant budget period in which the appointment initially is made. Thus, an appointment made in one budget period can overlap into the next budget period. While the entire 12-months of stipend and tuition is charged to the grant at the time of the appointment, funds for travel and Training-Related Expenses are not, therefore, any unexpended balances stemming from a trainee's stipend and tuition is reported as an unliquidated balance on the Federal Financial Report (FFR), but unexpended balances from travel and other training related expenses are reported as an unobligated balance on the FFR.

Note: Students appointed as late as June 30 of a given grant year have their salary capped at the level established for the grant year in which they were last appointed or re-appointed. Those students are not entitled to receive any newly announced stipend increases available to students who are initially appointed or reappointed the next day (which is the beginning of the new grant year award). Also, if a student is on a grant six months or less in an award period, one-half of the Training Related Expenses (TRE) funds associated with that student revert back to the Government in the form of unobligated balances.

To access a listing of current ´óÏóÊÓƵjob vacancies, with information on application procedures and contacts, go to: http://www.ahrq.gov/cpi/about/careers/index.html.

Applications for employment are only accepted for specific vacancies; applications are not accepted for general employment consideration.

´óÏóÊÓƵbrings onboard graduate students as interns to work with ´óÏóÊÓƵstaff on specific ongoing research projects. These internships usually last between 8-12 weeks and the interns work full time. Interns are paid for their work.

Announcements publicizing these internships are posted on the Job Opportunities page.

The United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK) was an online, publicly accessible registry and repository of healthcare-related metadata, specifications, and standards. USHIK was funded and directed by ´óÏóÊÓƵwith management support and engagement from numerous public and private partners.

For more information, go to: /data/ushik.html.

The U.S. Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK) used a metadata registry methodology based on international standards to promote interoperability and comparability for managing the meaning of data assets and consistent interpretation of the data. The meaning (or semantics) of data assets and associated terminology must be understood and the context accurately characterized and communicated to ensure the coherence of information stored in and shared between databases.

The USHIK project provided a tool to compare and evaluate metadata across multiple metadata standards and served as a one-stop shop display experience for metadata standards to researchers, clinicians, policymakers, developers, and healthcare metadata users in general. USHIK supported the HHS goal to promote quality of care by enhancing the quality of data used to provide that care.

More information is available at /data/ushik.html.

The U.S. Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK) was populated with the data elements and information models of Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and other healthcare organizations, in such a way that public and private organizations could harmonize information formats with existing and emerging healthcare standards.

USHIK also contained data element information for government initiatives that supported the use and implementation of data standards such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Consolidated Health Informatics (CHI) initiative, and the Health Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP). Health IT developers could use the site to determine similarities and differences for metadata definitions when coding a system to comply with Federal requirements.

More information is available at /data/ushik.html.

AHRQ's health IT initiative is part of the Nation's strategy to put information technology to work in health care. By developing secure and private electronic health records for most Americans and making health information available electronically when and where it is needed, health IT can improve the quality of care, even as it makes health care more cost-effective.

Since 2004, ´óÏóÊÓƵhas invested more than $260 million in contracts and grants to over 150 communities, hospitals, providers, and health care systems in 48 States to promote access to and encourage the adoption of health IT. These projects constitute a real-world laboratory for examining health IT at work.

To learn more, go to AHRQ's Health Information Technology website at: .

If you have additional questions about health information technology (IT), visit the .