The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is pleased to announce the development of its free, interactive HCUP Overview Course, available online at the HCUP-US Website. Winner of a 2007 Silver Excellence in Learning award from Brandon Hall Research, the self-administered course provides an overview of the data, software tools and products of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The course covers the features, capabilities, and potential uses of HCUP resources. Also included is information on where and how to access the data and tools and additional technical support topics. The online course is modular, so Users can either move through the entire course or access exactly those data resources, tools, and products of interest.

There are two versions of the course: Interactive and Text. The Interactive version requires Flash 7 to be installed on your computer, the audio enabled, and pop-up blockers temporarily disabled. Users may, however, prefer to use the Section 508-Compliant Text version of the course as an alternative.

The course was designed in conjunction with Allen Communication Learning Services, with course content developed by Thomson Healthcare and AHRQ’s HCUP team.

For more information, please visit the User Quick Guide for Online HCUP Overview Course on the HCUP-US Website, or contact HCUP User Support at hcup@ahrq.gov.