The inextricable relationship of emergency care, national health security/preparedness, and health care reform.

h M D d t o M m t f [Ann Emerg Med. 2013;62:509-510.] Editor’s Note: This article is the introduction to a new series that describes the many ways that the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) interacts with the emergency care system. DHHS includes many divisions that are well known to the health care world including the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality as well as many that while perhaps less well known, impact the day to day operation of the emergency care system. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response has become a primary contact within DHHS for emergency care related issues, and in this first in the series Dr. Nicole Lurie describes the many ways that her office interacts with the emergency care system.