Research Activities, November 2012, No. 387 ContentsAbout Research ActivitiesFeature StoryImproving care for patients with disabilitiesFrom the DirectorPatient Safety and QualityMany hospitalized children receive numerous medications, raising potential safety concernsSeniors learn some things from prescription drug advertisements, but can also be misledChronic DiseaseDiabetes substantially affects school dropout rates and wagesGaps in insurance coverage linked to less receipt of preventive services by patients with diabetesSelf-monitoring of blood pressure along with nurse counseling leads to greater blood pressure controlBreathing retraining techniques may help adult asthmaPatient decision aids can reduce uncertainty in decisions about whether to undergo total knee replacementRadiation therapy linked to dry mouth in elderly patients with head and neck cancersEmergency CareHelicopter transport to trauma centers improves patient survival over ambulance transportMore hospitals with angioplasty capability have not improved access to the procedureHealth Care Costs and FinancingBariatric surgery is not linked to lower costs among individuals with diabetesBundling payments reduces health care spendingIncreased use of anesthesiologists in screening colonoscopy found to raise costs, but risks and benefits are still unknownChild/Adolescent HealthHospitalizations for kids with inflammatory bowel disease are frequent and costlyConsolidating blood draws may help reduce blood loss in critically ill childrenStudy questions usefulness of hospital readmission rates as marker of care quality for pediatric sickle cell diseaseMother-infant interactions associated with use of health services Disparities/Minority HealthMany black parents believe soft bedding will keep their infants safe from sudden infant death syndromeMedicare, Medicaid, and uninsured patients less likely to receive drug-eluting stents than the privately insuredStudies find emotional and health problems and elevated deaths among recently released prisonersMen's HealthIntensity-modulated radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer yields fewer side effects than other radiation treatmentsHealth Information TechnologyPatients treated for heart failure in the emergency department fare better if there is an electronic health record availableElectronic standing orders increase delivery of preventive servicesStudy finds personal health records do not impact hypertension carePhysicians optimistic about potential for electronic prescribing but barriers to adoption still existHealth information technology-supported quality improvement initiative reduces some ambulatory care disparitiesAgency News and NotesProcalcitonin guidance may lead to decreased antibiotic usageMedicaid providers face common barriers to meaningful useProgestogens effective for preventing preterm births in single pregnanciesAnnouncementsAHRQ-funded report shows promise in detecting surgical site infectionsAHRQ offers free toolkit to strengthen medication reconciliationHealth Services Research extends call for papers on health ITResearch BriefsResearch Briefs Current as of November 2012 Internet Citation: Research Activities, November 2012, No. 387. November 2012. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/research-activities/12nov/index.html
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