Your Guide to Choosing Quality Health Care

   Contents
                                      
   A Message from the Secretary of Health and Human Services
   Before You Begin
   A Quick Look at Quality
   Choosing a Health Plan
   Choosing a Doctor
   Choosing Treatments
   Choosing a Hospital
   Choosing Long-Term Care
   Health Information on the Internet
   Quick Checks for Quality
                                                                            
                                      
   This guide was developed by the Agency for Health Care Policy and
   Research (AHCPR), in cooperation with other agencies of the U.S.
   Department of Health and Human Services, and other public- and
   private-sector health organizations.
   
   AHCPR is the lead Federal Agency charged with sponsoring and
   conducting research on the quality and outcomes of health care
   services, as well as the cost, use, and access to those services.
   
   For more information on AHCPR-sponsored research and products, call
   1-800-358-9295, or visit AHCPR's site on the World Wide Web,
   http://www.ahrq.gov.
   
   For reliable consumer health and human services information and
   resources, visit the healthfinder™ gateway Web site, developed by
   the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at
   http://www.healthfinder.gov.

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