Registration Information
April 21, 2005,  is the deadline for receipt of advance registrants in the registration office.  Registrations received after that date will be processed on site and the fee will increase

Hotel Accomodations
Reservations can be made by phone or the Internet. Rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and must be made by April 21, 2005, to receive the AHA discounted room rate.

Visa Letter
For visa purposes, a letter from the conference chairs may be personalized and downloaded.

Program Description
This two-day conference will feature plenary, breakout and poster sessions.  The 6^th Scientific Forum will focus on new and developing opportunities, initiatives, projects, policies, and research relevant to the measuring and improving the quality of care and outcomes for persons with or at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.  The forum fosters informal interaction among attendees and provides networking opportunities for early career investigators.

Program Content
Concurrent Workshops - Saturday, May 14
Forum - Sunday, May 15 and Monday, May 16
Faculty Biographies

Objectives
The forum is a scientific program that will provide investigators, practitioners, healthcare purchasers, healthcare provider organizations, research funders, and health policy experts interested in quality of care and outcomes research with the opportunity to learn the most recent information on:

1. measuring and improving quality of care and outcomes for persons with or at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke
2. new and innovative approaches to improving clinical effectiveness
3. efforts by national groups to assess and improve care
4. new research with implications for improving clinical effectiveness and enhancing the care and outcomes of patients
5. the intersection of evidence, guidelines and performance measures.

At the conclusion of the conference, participants should be:

• Able to disseminate information about the best approaches to improve clinical effectiveness and quality of care.
• Able to discuss and explain the strengths, limitations and challenges of current strategies to evaluate and improve care and outcomes of persons with or at risk for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.
• Aware of current strategies to quantify patient outcomes in clinical research.

Intended Audience
Clinicians, researchers, medical students and trainees, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, healthcare and managed care professionals, policymakers and other professionals interested in quality of care and outcomes research in cardiovascular disease and stroke.  Special efforts are extended to introduce new individuals to the field; thus, physicians in training, junior faculty, and those establishing careers in quality of care and outcomes research are particularly encouraged to attend.

The sponsors gratefully acknowledge the educational grants that support the conference by:
Scios, Inc.
Merck/Schering-Plough
Pfizer
Vitality Communications
Department of Veterans Affairs
Merck Research Labs

Members of the Pharmaceutical Roundtable:
AstraZeneca
Bristol-Myers Squibb
GlaxoSmithKline
Merck
Novartis
Pfizer
Sanofi-Aventis
Takeda

We also thank CV Therapeutics for its contribution to support the Fellow Travel Awards.

The conference program has also been endorsed by these scientific councils of the American Heart Association:
Cardiovascular Nursing, Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia, Clinical Cardiology, Epidemiology and Prevention, and Stroke
Co-sponsored by the American College of Cardiology Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Veterans Affairs.

More Information
E-mail:  scientificconferences@heart.org
Phone: (214) 706-1543