What is HSR

AcademyHealth defines health services research as the multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately our health and well-being. Its research domains are individuals, families, organizations, institutions, communities, and populations.

Another way to think about HSR is presented in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s definition, which was published in February 2002. It states that, “Health services research examines how people get access to health care, how much care costs, and what happens to patients as a result of this care. The main goals of health services research are to identify the most effective ways to organize, manage, finance, and deliver high quality care; reduce medical errors; and improve patient safety.”

And, in the simplest terms,  HSR is the science/field of study that asks:

1. What works?
2. For whom?
3. At what cost?
4. Under what circumstances?