Health services researchers zero in on quality, policy, and practice in a changing health care system: report of the 15th annual meeting of the Association for Health Services Research.

Background: The Association for Health Services Research (AHSR) drew a record attendance of more than 2,100 to its 15th annual meeting, "Health Services Research: Implications for Policy, Delivery, and Practice," in Washington, DC, June 21-23, 1998. The conference offered 113 sessions, identifying policy roundtables and research report and panel sessions according to ten themes, with the "quality" theme on top and the effects of managed care a key concern. Selected presentations are reported.

The National Agenda: The keynote address, "The Public and the Managed Care Backlash," examined managed care in the context of conditions shaping public issues in the United States. The tasks and prospects for the new President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry got close attention from expert and Commission-member panelists.

Professional Ethics, Attitudes, And Practice Under Managed Care: Competing viewpoints were brought to bear on questions about whether physicians are "double agents" under managed care and how managed care, considering its degree of market penetration, is affecting physicians' beliefs and practices. EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE: Experts reviewed the evidence about how practice guidelines are faring, what implementation methods work best, and how to overcome remaining barriers to use of evidence-based guidelines. Clinicians reported successful implementation experiences using collaborative benchmarking and practice-based assistance to improve prevention services delivery to children.

The Quality Measures: Panelists reported advances in quality measurement methods dealing with hard-to-measure entities, including a new pediatric outcome measure. Three groups reported early implementation experiences with report cards.

Revamping, Repositioning, And Renaming Health Services Research: AHSR's president gave researchers specific assignments of questions to answer, called for a commitment to delivering health care quality information to the public, and invited suggestions to rename the discipline.