The Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism is requesting $50,000 to support the Center's educational program at Health Journalism 2007, the national conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ). The Center's purpose is to ensure that journalists are properly trained to cover news events, trends, and issues in all aspects of health care journalism, including the business of health care, public policy, medical research, medical practice, consumer health issues, public health, health law and ethics. AHRQ has supported these conferences since 2000. The Center and AHCJ have a proven track record that helps fulfill AHRQ's mission to enhance the quality, appropriateness and effectiveness of health services, and access to such services by strengthening the knowledge and skills of journalists who disseminate information to the public. Each year, we offer workshops and panel sessions on evidence-based medicine, covering the quality of health care, upgrading journalism skills and knowledge in properly analyzing data and reporting on health care quality. The conference will allow us to acquaint many journalists with AHRQ's new Web-based tool for states to measure health care quality, Consumer Assessment of Health Plans (CAHPS), the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs), U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, the National Guideline Clearinghouse and National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NQMC). We will acquaint journalists with issues and problems in the delivery of health services and will summarize research findings on improving the outcomes, quality access, cost and use of these services. The 2007 conference fits the Agency's interest in supporting improvements in health outcomes, strengthening quality measurement and improvement and identifying strategies to improve access, foster appropriate use and reduce expenditures. Each year we have 60-100 speakers and more than 40 sessions. Conference proceedings are posted on our Web site, presented in our newsletter, and if we secure sufficient funding, developed into on-the-road training materials. The conference sessions, sources and reporting guide handouts will strengthen the knowledge and skills of journalists who disseminate information to the public. Instruction on how to pursue specific story ideas and health data will allow health reporters to return to their communities and quickly produce important news stories that can lead to improved localized health activity. ? ? ?
