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Health services researchers have (ARM) circled on their calendars every summer.  ARM is a premier event for health services research (HSR).  We always look forward to seeing colleagues and friends in our natural habitat—sharing significant findings and parsing the latest research on how to improve healthcare and the lives of patients and healthcare professionals.

This year’s ARM begins on June 4 in Washington, D.C.  It will be my first as Director of AHRQ.  ������Ƶis one of the participating Federal agencies supporting this important event, and it’s an honor to lead ������Ƶstaff who will represent the Nation’s preeminent HSR agency.  

I am excited to meet all of you who will be attending!  I look forward to learning about your research interests and significant findings that need dissemination and implementation to improve our tattered healthcare system.

On Sunday, June 5 at 8 a.m. (bring your coffee!), I’ll be fortunate enough to lead a session, “Can We Talk About Money?: Health Services Research and Health Economics.” As part of the session, I’ll share my vision for ������Ƶand will lead a discussion about questions that demand our collective attention, including trends in healthcare financing and what we can do to advance health equity.  I'll be joined by several prominent HSR leaders, including my colleague Joel Cohen, Ph.D., director of AHRQ’s Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends.

Also not to be missed will be a session Monday at 10:15 a.m., led by another esteemed colleague, Francis D. Chesley, Jr., M.D., director of AHRQ’s Office of Extramural Research, Education and Priority Populations.  Two ������Ƶcolleagues will join Dr. Chesley, Jing Guo, Ph.D., and Karin Rhodes, M.D.  They'll discuss ������Ƶcareer development opportunities and our efforts with the to integrate HSR within leading health systems. 

These are just two of several critical AHRQ-related presentations at ARM this year.  Here are a few others that you may wish to add to your agenda:

• June 4, 12:30 p.m.: Enhancing Accessibility of Federal and Community-Level Social Determinants of Health Data.
• June 5, 10:00 a.m.: Making Data Actionable: Dashboards to Address Social Determinants of Health in Care.
• June 5, 12:30 p.m.: Quality and Value: Quality Disparities Exposed Through ������ƵData During the Pandemic.
• June 6, 9:15 a.m.: State All-Payer Claims Databases: Current Status and Future Promise.
• June 7, 8:00 a.m.: Advancing Patient-Centeredness in Clinical Decision Support.

In addition to these sessions featuring ������Ƶresearchers, grantees, and data,  I encourage you to review the full ARM to select the programming and sessions that are right for you.

One final thought: even though it appears that COVID-19 infection rates are on the rise again, at this moment we’re still scheduled to convene in person.  I look forward to an in-the-flesh meeting, and I'm sure you do.  It's been remarkable what we've all been able to accomplish while working primarily online, but it will be terrific—and productive—to see you in person.  Please stop by AHRQ’s exhibit booths (#202 and #204) to say hello.  It is our opportunity to reconnect with each other, engage around our research, and draw inspiration from each other.

I look forward to seeing you!

Dr. Valdez is Director of AHRQ.

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