title: An insider's perspective on the near-death experience of AHCPR.
abstract: The story of AHCPR's struggle with Congress to remain a federal agency is an example of the longer struggle health services research (HSR) has had to hold a priority in the federal budget. But from another perspective, the growth of HSR has been substantial, albeit an up-and-down experience. Its survival during the turbulent years of 1995-1996 is attributed to a fundamental restructuring of its program priorities and building a new base of support from major health care associations and leaders. A fortunate sequence of events also contributed to the reversal of what could have been a cataclysmic occurrence for the field of HSR.
authors.affiliation: Health Professor Inc., Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
authors.forename: Clifton R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Gaus
mesh_terms: D002017:Budgets / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006292:Health Priorities; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D011057:Politics; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*