Availability of Data for Measuring Physician Quality Performance

This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes:

• Articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers.
• Articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ staff, activities, and publications/products.
• Articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers.
• Articles related to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or Put Prevention into Practice program.
• Articles mentioning the National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report.
• Other research using AHRQ data or products.

AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

American Journal of Managed Care
Scholle SH, Roski J, Dunn DL, et al. Availability of data for measuring physician quality performance. Am J Manag Care 2009 Jan; 15(1):67-72. [Supported by grant 1 R13 HS16277.] Select to access the abstract.

American Journal of Public Health
Manson SM. Personal journeys, professional paths: persistence in navigating the crossroads of a research career. Am J Public Health 2009 Apr; 99 Suppl 1:S20-S25. [Supported in part by grant P01 HS10854.] Select to access the abstract.

Ford CL, Daniel M, Earp JA, et al. Perceived everyday racism, residential segregation, and HIV testing among patients at a sexually transmitted disease clinic. Am J Public Health 2009 Apr; 99 Suppl 1:S137-S143. [Supported in part by grant T32 HS00032.] Select to access the abstract.

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Nguyen-Oghalai TU, Ottenbacher KJ, Kuo YF, et al. Disparities in utilization of outpatient rehabilitative care following hip fracture hospitalization with respect to race and ethnicity. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2009 Apr; 90(4):560-3. [Supported in part by grant R24 HS11618.] Select to access the abstract.

Cancer
Hardy D, Liu CC, Xia R, et al. Racial disparities and treatment trends in a large cohort of elderly black and white patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cancer 2009 Apr 13; (Epub):1-13. [R01 HS16743.] Select to access the abstract.

Gerontologist
Resnick B, Gruber-Baldini AL, Galik E, et al. Changing the philosophy of care in long-term care: testing of the restorative care intervention. Gerontologist 2009 Apr; 49(2):175-84. [Supported by grant R01 HS/MH13372-01.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of General Internal Medicine
El-Kareh R, Gandhi TK, Poon EG, et al. Trends in primary care clinician perceptions of a new electronic health record. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):464-8. [Supported in part by grant 1 R01 HS15226-01.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of General Internal Medicine
Wong MD, Ettner SL, Boscardin WJ, et al. The contribution of cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis and survival to racial differences in years of life expectancy. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):475-81. [Secondarily supported by Mentored Scientist Award grant K08 AG/HS21616-05, cites NHDR, 2007 and 2006; cites AHRQ-funded articles by Marcella et al. (J Clin Epidemiol, 2001) and Wong et al. (N Engl J Med, 2002 and Med Care, 2005).] Select to access the abstract.

Linder JA, Nieva HR, Blumentals WA. Antiviral and antibiotic prescribing for influenza in primary care. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):504-10. [Supported by Career Development Award grant K08 HS14563 (to first author).] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Human Resources
Kreider B, Hill SC. Partially identifying treatment effects with an application to covering the uninsured. J Hum Resour 2009 Spring; 44(2):409-49. [Second author is a senior economist in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends.]

Social Indicators Research
Angner E, Miller MJ, Ray MN, et al. Health literacy and happiness: a community-based study. Soc Indic Res 2009 Mar 22; (Epub):1-14. [Supported by grant U18 HS10389.]

AHRQ-Related Articles

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Farrelly MC, Nonnemaker J, Davis KC, et al. The Influence of the national truth campaign on smoking initiation. Am J Prev Med 2009 May; 36(5):379-84. [Cites AHRQ guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update, 2008.] Select to access the abstract.

Holtgrave DR, Wunderink KA, Vallone DM, et al. Cost-utility analysis of the national truth campaign to prevent youth smoking. Am J Prev Med 2009 May; 36(5):385-8. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Stout et al. (J Natl Cancer Inst, 2006).] Select to access the abstract.

Circulation
Preis SR, Hwang SJ, Coady S, et al. Trends in all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among women and men with and without diabetes mellitus in the Framingham Heart Study, 1950 to 2005. Circulation 2009 Apr 7; 119(13):1728-35. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Cooper, et al., Stryer (former director of AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety), and Thom (Circulation, 2000).] Select to access the abstract.

Family Medicine
Shreffler KM, McQuillan J, Greil AL, et al. Odds of having a regular physician and perceptions of care: ethnic patterns for women ages 25-45. Fam Med 2009 Apr; 41(4):271-6. [Cites AHRQ-authored articles by Weinick (former AHRQ researcher), Zuvekas, Cohen (last two authors are researchers in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends) (Med Care Res Rev, 2000), Weinick et al. (Am J Public Health, 2000), and Dayton (former AHRQ researcher), Zhan (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence), Sangl (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety), Darby (former AHRQ researcher), and Moy (Senior Research Scientist in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety) (Am J Med Qaul, 2006); cites AHRQ-funded article by Stewart et al. (Med Care, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Gerontologist
Kim H, Harrington C, Greene WH. Registered nurse staffing mix and quality of care in nursing homes: a longitudinal analysis. Gerontologist 2009 Feb; 49(1):81-90. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Grabowski et al. (Health Serv Res, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Squillace MR, Remsburg RE, Harris-Kojetin LD, et al. The National Nursing Assistant Survey: improving the evidence base for policy initiatives to strengthen the certified nursing assistant workforce. Gerontologist 2009 Apr; 49(2):185-97. [Cites data from AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), 2004.] Select to access the abstract.

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care
Gooch KL, Smith D, Wasylak T, et al. The Alberta Hip and Knee Replacement Project: a model for health technology assessment based on comparative effectiveness of clinical pathways. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 2009 Spring; 25(2):113-23. [Differentiates clinical pathways from clinical practice guidelines on the basis of definitions used by the National Guideline Clearinghouse; cites AHRQ-authored article by Tunis, Stryer (former AHRQ researcher), and Clancy (AHRQ director (JAMA, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Smith GE, Housen P, Yaffe K, et al. A cognitive training program based on principles of brain plasticity: results from the Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training (IMPACT) study. J Am Geriatr Soc 2009 Apr; 57(4):594-603. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Sands et al. (J Gerontol B Biol Sci Med Sci, 2002).] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of General Internal Medicine
Salmon P, Ring A, Humphris GM, et al. Primary care consultations about medically unexplained symptoms: how do patients indicate what they want?. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):450-6. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Levinson et al. (JAMA, 2000) and Epstein et al. (Psychosom Med, 2006).] Select to access the abstract.

Au DH, Bryson CL, Chien JW, et al. The effects of smoking cessation on the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):457-63. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Tsevat (Am J Med, 1992).] Select to access the abstract.

Snyder CF, Frick KD, Peairs KS, et al. Comparing care for breast cancer survivors to non-cancer controls: a five-year longitudinal study. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):469-74. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Deyo et al. (J Clin Epidemiol, 1992).] Select to access the abstract.

Paez KA, Allen JK, Beach MC, et al. Physician cultural competence and patient ratings of the patient-physician relationship. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):495-8. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Taira et al. (Health Serv Res, 2001), Safran et al. (J Fam Pract, 1998), Paez et al. (Soc Sci Med, 2008), and Stewart et al. (Milbank Q, 1999).] Select to access the abstract.

Drawz PE, Bocirnea C, Greer KB, et al. Hypertension guideline adherence among nursing home patients. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):499-503. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Hicks et al. (Hypertension, 2004) and Simon et al. (Am J Med, 2005).] Select to access the abstract.

Halpin CF, Iezzoni LI, Rauch S. Medical record documentation of patients' hearing loss by physicians. J Gen Intern Med 2009 Apr; 24(4):517-19. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Iezzoni et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Medicine on the Net
Johnson C. Focus: healthcare quality resources. 2009 Mar; 15(3):10-16. [Describes features of AHRQ's Web site in a review of health care quality resources.]

Public Health Reports
Spiller HA, Griffith JR. The value and evolving role of the U.S. poison control center system. Public Health Rep 2009 May/Jun; 124(3):359-63. [Cites 2005 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data.]

Searcher
Klein B. Copyright alert! Even U.S. government information may be protected by copyright. 2009 Apr; 17(4):34-8. [Article includes "A Quick Quiz"that lists AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets and Center for Outcomes and Evidence as possible answers to the question "Which of the following are federal agencies that produce "works of the U.S. government?"]

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
England LJ, Dietz PM, Njoroge T, et al. Preventing type 2 diabetes: public health implications for women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2009 Apr; 200(4):365.e1-365.e8. [Cites USPSTF recommendations and rationale for screening for type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults (Ann Intern Med, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Rabin RF, Jennings JM, Campbell JC, et al. Intimate partner violence screening tools: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med 2009 May; 36(5):439-445.e4. [Discusses and cites USPSTF recommendation on screening for family and intimate partner violence (Ann Intern Med, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Annals of Internal Medicine
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Counseling and interventions to prevent tobacco use and tobacco-caused diseases in adults and pregnant women: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reaffirmation recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 2009 Apr 21; 150(8):551-5. [Presents USPSTF reaffirmed recommendations on counseling and interventions to prevent tobacco-caused disease in adults and pregnant women.] Select to access the abstract.

Summaries for Patients. Preventing tobacco use and related diseases in adults and pregnant women: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reaffirmation recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 2009 Apr 21; 150(8):1-46. [Summarizes USPSTF reaffirmation recommendation statement on counseling and interventions to prevent tobacco use and tobacco-causes diseases in adults and pregnant women (Ann Intern Med, 2009) cited above.]

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
Ahern CH, Shen Y. Cost-effectiveness analysis of mammography and clinical breast examination strategies: a comparison with current guidelines. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009 Mar; 18(3):718-25. [Summarizes USPSTF recommendations on mammography screening (Eddy, Ann Intern Med, 1989), noting the lack of consensus among various recommendations; cites AHRQ-funded/authored cost-effectiveness studies by Elixhauser (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets) (Int J Technol Assess Health Care, 1991) and Mandelblatt et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

JAMA
Robinson JK, Mallett KA. The duty to inspect the skin and counsel those at risk to develop melanoma. JAMA 2009 Apr 22; 301(16):1702-4. [Cites USPSTF recommendation statement on screening for skin cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2009).]

Journal of Family Practice
Cheung A, Ewigman B, Zuckerbrot RA, et al. Adolescent depression: is your young patient suffering in silence?. J Fam Pract 2009 Apr; 58(4):187-92. [Cites USPSTF summary of recommendations on screening for depression, 2002, as published on AHRQ Web site.]

Maternal and Child Health Journal
Sheeder J, Tocce K, Stevens-Simon C. Reasons for ineffective contraceptive use antedating adolescent pregnancies: part 2: a proxy for childbearing intentions. Matern Child Health J 2009 May; 13(3):306-17. [Cites USPSTF recommendations and rationale on screening for chlamydial infection (Am J Prev Med, 2001).] Select to access the abstract.

Public Health Reports
Torres GW, Yonek J, Pickreign J, et al. HIV testing and referral to care in U.S. hospitals prior to 2006: results from a national survey. Public Health Rep 2009 May-Jun; 124(3):400-8. [Cites USPSTF recommendation statement on screening for HIV, 2007, as published on AHRQ Web site.]

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Chu SY, D'Angelo DV. Gestational weight gain among US women who deliver twins, 2001-2006. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2009 Apr; 200(4):390.e1-390.e6. [Cites Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Outcomes of Maternal Weight Gain, 2008.] Select to access the abstract.

Public Health Reports
Galson SK. The 25th anniversary of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Breastfeeding and Human Lactation: the status of breastfeeding today. Public Health Rep 2009 May-Jun; 124(3):356-8. [Discusses and cites Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries, 2007.]

National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR)/National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR)-Related Articles

McWilliams JM, Meara E, Zaslavsky AM, et al. Differences in control of cardiovascular disease and diabetes by race, ethnicity, and education: U.S. trends from 1999 to 2006 and effects of Medicare coverage. Ann Intern Med 2009 Apr 21; 150(8):505-15. [Cites NHQR, 2007; cites AHRQ-authored article by Fiscella, Franks, Gold, and Clancy (director of AHRQ) (JAMA, 2000); cites AHRQ-funded articles by Ma et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2005), Trivedi et al. (New Engl J Med, 2005), Schneider et al. (JAMA, 2001 and JAMA, 2006), and others. Also go to the article by Wong et al. (J Gen Intern Med, 2009) cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles above.] Select to access the abstract.

Research By Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

American Journal of Public Health
Waters HR, Foldes SS, Alesci NL, et al. The economic impact of exposure to secondhand smoke in Minnesota. Am J Public Health 2009 Apr; 99(4):754-9. [Uses and cites 2003 MEPS data; cites HCUP publication Procedures in US Hospitals, 2003, as published on AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Annals of Surgery
Eppsteiner RW, Csikesz NG, McPhee JT, et al. Surgeon volume impacts hospital mortality for pancreatic resection. Ann Surg 2009 Apr; 249(4):635-40. [Uses 1998-2005 HCUP NIS; uses and cites Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Med Care, 1998); cites AHRQ-funded articles by Birkmeyer et al. (N Engl J Med, 2003, Surgery, 2001, and New Engl J Med, 2002).] Select to access the abstract.

Health Care Management
Langabeer JR 2nd, Ozcan YA. The economics of cancer care: longitudinal changes in provider efficiency. Health Care Manag Sci 2009 Jun; 12(2):192-200. [Uses MEPS; cites MEPS 2006 data, as published on AHRQ Web site.]

Journal of Vascular Surgery
McPhee J, Eslami MH, Arous EJ, et al. Endovascular treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms in the United States (2001-2006): a significant survival benefit over open repair is independently associated with increased institutional volume. J Vasc Surg 2009 Apr; 49(4):817-26. [Uses and cites 2001-2006 HCUP NIS data; uses and cites Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Med Care, 1998); cites AHRQ-funded article by Birkmeyer et al. (Surgery, 2001) using HCUP NIS data; cites AHRQ-funded article by Iezzoni et al. (JAMA, 1992).] Select to access the abstract.

Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
Acevedo JL, Lander L, Choi S, et al. Airway management in pediatric epiglottitis: a national perspective. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2009 Apr; 140(4):548-51. [Uses 2003 HCUP Kids Inpatient Database (KID) data.] Select to access the abstract.