The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective services. The research sponsored, conducted, and disseminated by AHRQ provides information that helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services. It is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Health care or healthcare is the delivery of medical services by specialist providers, such as midwives, doctors, nurses, home health aides, vaccination technicians and physicians assistants. ... The United States Department of Health and Human Services, often abbreviated HHS, is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. ...