The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality[1] (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).[2] The agency is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. (with a Rockville mailing address). It was established as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) as a constituent unit of the Public Health Service (PHS) under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (103 Stat.