National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
AHRQ Research Studies Date
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 5 of 5 Research Studies DisplayedWatterson TL, Stone JA, Kleinschmidt PC
CancelRx case study: implications for clinic and community pharmacy work systems.
This study examined the impact of implementation of CancelRx, a health IT system that automatically communicates medication discontinuations from the clinic electronic health record to the community pharmacy dispensing platform, theoretically improving communication. The system was implemented across a Midwest academic health system in October 2017, using their 15 outpatient community pharmacies to test it. Interviews were conducted with 9 medical assistants, 12 community pharmacists, and 3 pharmacy administrators employed by the health system across 3-time periods between 2017 and 2018: 3-months prior to CancelRx implementation, 3-months after CancelRx implementation, and 9-months after CancelRx implementation. While CancelRx automated and streamlined how medication discontinuation messages were received and processed, it also increased workload and introduced new errors.
AHRQ-funded; HS025793.
Citation: Watterson TL, Stone JA, Kleinschmidt PC .
CancelRx case study: implications for clinic and community pharmacy work systems.
BMC Health Serv Res 2023 Dec 6; 23(1):1360. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-10396-9..
Keywords: Cancer, Provider: Pharmacist, Medication
Hill D, Kaufman SR, Oerline MK
In-office dispensing of oral targeted agents by urology practices in men with advanced prostate cancer.
Researchers investigated the dispensing oral targeted agents for advanced prostate cancer treatment directly to patients in urologists’ offices, and whether this delivery model improves access to these agents especially for Black men who are historically undertreated. Their retrospective cohort study used national Medicare data for men with advanced prostate cancer managed by urology practices with and without in-office dispensing. They concluded that this model of delivery could improve access to this class of medications.
AHRQ-funded; HS025707.
Citation: Hill D, Kaufman SR, Oerline MK .
In-office dispensing of oral targeted agents by urology practices in men with advanced prostate cancer.
JNCI Cancer Spectr 2023 Jul 3; 7(5). doi: 10.1093/jncics/pkad062..
Keywords: Cancer: Prostate Cancer, Cancer, Men's Health, Medication
Jazowski SA, Vaidya AU, Donohue JM
Time to confirmatory study initiation after accelerated approval of cancer and noncancer drugs in the US.
The FDA requires that studies must be conducted to confirm a drug’s clinical benefit, but the accelerated approval pathway has been criticized because of delays by manufacturers in completing the studies. A possible source of delays is that the needed confirmatory studies are often not taking place at the time of accelerated approval. The aim of this study was to explore and compare the time elapsed between the accelerated approval of cancer and noncancer drugs to the commencement of confirmatory studies in the United States. The study found that for 103 cancer–indication pairs and noncancer products, 20.31% of confirmatory studies were not underway at the time of accelerated approval, and the median time from approval to study initiation was 1.41. Noncancer products had a greater proportion of confirmatory studies with initiation occurring after accelerated approval and a longer median time from approval to study initiation compared with cancer product–indication pairs. When evaluating delays in confirmatory study completion, studies underway at the time of accelerated approval were less likely to be submitted past FDA-designated deadlines relative to studies initiated after approval. Similar patterns were observed for cancer and noncancer products, but delays in confirmatory study completion were more distinct within studies commenced after approval for noncancer products than for cancer product–indication pairs.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Jazowski SA, Vaidya AU, Donohue JM .
Time to confirmatory study initiation after accelerated approval of cancer and noncancer drugs in the US.
JAMA Intern Med 2023 Jul; 183(7):737-39. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.0777..
Keywords: Cancer, Medication
Enzinger AC, Ghosh K, Keating NL
Racial and ethnic disparities in opioid access and urine drug screening among older patients with poor-prognosis cancer near the end of life.
This research characterized racial and ethnic disparities and trends in opioid access and urine drug screening (UDS) among older patients dying of cancer, and to explore potential mechanisms. Among 18,549 non-Hispanic White (White), Black, and Hispanic Medicare decedents older than 65 years with poor-prognosis cancers, the authors examined 2007-2019 trends in opioid prescription fills and potency (morphine milligram equivalents [MMEs] per day [MMEDs]) near the end of life (EOL), defined as 30 days before death or hospice enrollment. They found that between 2007 and 2019, White, Black, and Hispanic decedents experienced steady declines in EOL opioid access and rapid expansion of UDS. Compared with White patients, Black and Hispanic patients were less likely to receive any opioid (Black, -4.3 percentage points; Hispanic, -3.6 percentage points) and long-acting opioids (Black, -3.1 percentage points; Hispanic, -2.2 percentage points). They also received lower daily doses (Black, -10.5 MMED; Hispanic, -9.1 MMED) and lower total doses (Black, -210 MMEs; Hispanic, -179 MMEs). Black patients were also more likely to undergo UDS (0.5 percentage points).
AHRQ-funded; HS024072.
Citation: Enzinger AC, Ghosh K, Keating NL .
Racial and ethnic disparities in opioid access and urine drug screening among older patients with poor-prognosis cancer near the end of life.
J Clin Oncol 2023 May 10; 41(14):2511-22. doi: 10.1200/jco.22.01413..
Keywords: Elderly, Opioids, Medication, Cancer, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Access to Care
Vo H, Valentine KD, Barry MJ
Evaluation of the shared decision-making process scale in cancer screening and medication decisions.
The objectives of this study were to examine the reliability and validity of the Shared Decision-Making (SDM) Process scale for cancer screening and medication decisions. Researchers conducted a secondary data analysis of more than 6,000 participants who made decisions about breast, colon, or prostate cancer screening or taking medication for menopause, depression, hypertension or high cholesterol. They concluded that the SDM Process scale demonstrated construct validity and retest reliability.
AHRQ-funded; HS025718.
Citation: Vo H, Valentine KD, Barry MJ .
Evaluation of the shared decision-making process scale in cancer screening and medication decisions.
Patient Educ Couns 2023 Mar;108:107617. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.107617.
Keywords: Shared Decision Making, Cancer, Medication, Screening