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
Topics
- Antibiotics (1)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (1)
- Burnout (3)
- Care Management (1)
- Chronic Conditions (2)
- Communication (2)
- Disparities (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- Implementation (1)
- Medicare (1)
- Medication (3)
- Medication: Safety (1)
- Opioids (2)
- Organizational Change (1)
- Pain (1)
- Practice Patterns (1)
- (-) Primary Care (12)
- Primary Care: Models of Care (2)
- (-) Provider (12)
- Provider: Clinician (5)
- Provider: Nurse (2)
- Provider: Physician (5)
- Provider: Physician Assistant (1)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality of Care (4)
- Stress (1)
- Teams (2)
- Workflow (1)
- Workforce (4)
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 12 of 12 Research Studies DisplayedMilitello LG, Hurley RW, Cook RL
Primary care clinicians' beliefs and strategies for managing chronic pain in an era of a national opioid epidemic.
Investigators sought a better understanding of primary care clinicians’ approaches to managing patients with chronic pain and explored implications for technological and administrative interventions. They found that primary care clinicians’ beliefs about opioid therapy generally align with the clinical evidence but may have some important gaps, suggesting the potential value of interventions that include improved access to research findings, organizational changes to support spending time with patients to develop rapport, and the need for innovative clinical cognitive support.
AHRQ-funded; HS023306.
Citation: Militello LG, Hurley RW, Cook RL .
Primary care clinicians' beliefs and strategies for managing chronic pain in an era of a national opioid epidemic.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Dec;35(12):3542-48. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06178-2..
Keywords: Primary Care, Opioids, Medication, Pain, Chronic Conditions, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider, Care Management
Fraze TK, Briggs ADM, Whitcomb EK
Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs.
The objective of this study was to estimate trends in the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners from 2012 to 2017, to characterize beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners in 2017, and to examine how the percentage of beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners varies by practice characteristics. Findings showed that nurse practitioners are caring for Medicare beneficiaries with complex needs at rates that match or exceed their physician colleagues. The growing role of nurse practitioners, especially in health care systems, warrants attention as organizations embark on payment and delivery reform.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Fraze TK, Briggs ADM, Whitcomb EK .
Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs.
Med Care 2020 Oct;58(10):853-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001364..
Keywords: Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Chronic Conditions, Primary Care, Medicare
Lozada MJ, Raji MA, Goodwin JS
Opioid prescribing by primary care providers: a cross-sectional analysis of nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and physician prescribing patterns.
The purpose of this study was to identify prescription opioid over-prescribers by comparing prescribing patterns of primary care physicians (MDs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and physician assistants (PAs). Participants were a national sample of 2015 Medicare Part D enrollees. Findings showed that most NPs/PAs prescribed opioids in a pattern similar to MDs, but NPs/PAs had more outliers who prescribed high-frequency, high-dose opioids than did MDs. Recommendations included efforts to reduce opioid overprescribing including targeted provider education, risk stratification, and state legislation.
AHRQ-funded; HS020642.
Citation: Lozada MJ, Raji MA, Goodwin JS .
Opioid prescribing by primary care providers: a cross-sectional analysis of nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and physician prescribing patterns.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Sep;35(9):2584-92. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-05823-0..
Keywords: Opioids, Medication, Primary Care, Practice Patterns, Medication: Safety, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician, Provider: Physician Assistant, Provider
Du S, Wiegmann D, Beasley J
Defining team membership in primary care: qualitative analysis.
This study explored the question: "How do healthcare professionals in primary care clinics define who is on their team?" Participants had very different perspectives on how their teams were defined, and multiple themes emerged. This study can inform healthcare professionals and administrators, as well as health IT designers, consultants, architects, and researchers interested in primary care teams and how they function in a clinic environment.
AHRQ-funded; HS022505.
Citation: Du S, Wiegmann D, Beasley J .
Defining team membership in primary care: qualitative analysis.
IISE Trans Healthc Syst Eng 2020;10(4):251-60. doi: 10.1080/24725579.2020.1800869..
Keywords: Primary Care: Models of Care, Primary Care, Teams, Provider
Zetts RM, Stoesz A, Garcia AM
Primary care physicians' attitudes and perceptions towards antibiotic resistance and outpatient antibiotic stewardship in the USA: a qualitative study.
Outpatient antibiotic stewardship is needed to improve prescribing and address the threat of antibiotic resistance. A better understanding of primary care physicians (PCPs) attitudes towards antibiotic prescribing and outpatient antibiotic stewardship is needed to identify barriers to stewardship implementation and help tailor stewardship strategies. The aim of this study was to assess PCPs current attitudes towards antibiotic resistance, inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and the feasibility of outpatient stewardship efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS026506; HS024930; 233201500020I.
Citation: Zetts RM, Stoesz A, Garcia AM .
Primary care physicians' attitudes and perceptions towards antibiotic resistance and outpatient antibiotic stewardship in the USA: a qualitative study.
BMJ Open 2020 Jul 14;10(7):e034983. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034983..
Keywords: Primary Care, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotics, Medication, Provider: Physician, Provider
Poghosyan L, Ghaffari A, Liu J
Organizational support for nurse practitioners in primary care and workforce outcomes.
Lack of organizational support in healthcare settings has been linked to high levels of clinician stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction. Little research exists on organizational support for nurse practitioners. In this study, the researchers investigated the relationship between organizational support and nurse practitioner outcomes, including job satisfaction, intent to leave, and quality of care. The investigators concluded that nurse practitioners from primary care practices with higher levels of organizational support were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, have less intent to leave their jobs, and report better quality of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024758.
Citation: Poghosyan L, Ghaffari A, Liu J .
Organizational support for nurse practitioners in primary care and workforce outcomes.
Nurs Res 2020 Jul/Aug;69(4):280-88. doi: 10.1097/nnr.0000000000000425..
Keywords: Provider: Clinician, Provider, Primary Care, Burnout, Stress, Workforce, Organizational Change
Lee YSH, King MD, Anderson D
The how matters: how primary care provider communication with team relates to patients' disease management.
This study examined how primary care provider (PCP)-team communication relates to patients’ disease management. A longitudinal study was conducted of how 3 aspects of PCP-care team communication including participation, time spent listening, an uninterrupted speaking length relate to disease management of patients with hypertension or diabetes. The study recruited 27 PCPs and 98 team members serving 18,067 patients with hypertension and 8354 patients with diabetes affiliated with a federally qualified health center with 12 practice sites. Data was collected using sociometric sensors worn by PCPs and team members, surveys on patient-PCP communication, and electronic records which extracted PCP and patient characteristics. Results showed that PCPs participated in 75% of care team conversations, spent 56% of conversation time listening, and had an average uninterrupted speaking length of 2.42 seconds. Greater PCP participation, listening, and length of uninterrupted time speaking were associated with significantly higher odds that their patients had controlled hypertension and diabetes.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Lee YSH, King MD, Anderson D .
The how matters: how primary care provider communication with team relates to patients' disease management.
Med Care 2020 Jul;58(7):643-50. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001342..
Keywords: Primary Care, Communication, Teams, Provider, Quality of Care
McHugh M, Brown T, Walunas TL
Contrasting perspectives of practice leaders and practice facilitators may be common in quality improvement initiatives.
The authors sought to identify patterns of contrasting perspectives on implementation issues between practice leaders and their practice facilitators as well as factors that may contribute to them. Through individual interviews, they found that turnover of staff was frequently reported in dyads with contrasting perspectives. They recommended that planners of quality improvement initiatives using practice facilitation consider taking steps to minimize contrasting perspectives by addressing turnover challenges and encouraging opportunities to share perspectives.
AHRQ-funded; HS023921.
Citation: McHugh M, Brown T, Walunas TL .
Contrasting perspectives of practice leaders and practice facilitators may be common in quality improvement initiatives.
J Healthc Qual 2020 May/Jun;42(3):e32-e38. doi: 10.1097/jhq.0000000000000223..
Keywords: Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Implementation, Communication, Provider
Goldberg DG, Soylu TG, Grady VM
Indicators of workplace burnout among physicians, advanced practice clinicians, and staff in small to medium-sized primary care practices.
The goal of this study was to examine whether individual behaviors and attitudes towards major disruptive change has an effect on workplace burnout. Using surveys from healthcare professionals, researchers’ findings showed workplace burnout reported by 31.6% of physicians, 17.2% of advanced practice clinicians, 18.9% of clinical support staff, and 17.5% of administrative staff, with all healthcare professional groups having high levels of anxiety. Providers who experienced higher levels of anxiety and withdrawal were more than three times as likely to report burnout compared to those who experienced low levels in these domains.
AHRQ-funded; HS023913.
Citation: Goldberg DG, Soylu TG, Grady VM .
Indicators of workplace burnout among physicians, advanced practice clinicians, and staff in small to medium-sized primary care practices.
J Am Board Fam Med 2020 May-Jun;33(3):378-85. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2020.03.190260..
Keywords: Burnout, Primary Care, Provider, Workflow, Workforce
Poghosyan L, Ghaffari A, Liu J
Physician-nurse practitioner teamwork in primary care practices in New York: a cross-sectional survey.
Primary care practices increasingly rely on the growing workforce of nurse practitioners (NPs) to meet primary care demand. Understanding teamwork between NPs and physicians in primary care practices is critically important. In this study, the investigators assessed teamwork between NPs and physicians practicing within the same primary care practice and determined how teamwork affected their job satisfaction, intent to leave their current job, and quality of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024758.
Citation: Poghosyan L, Ghaffari A, Liu J .
Physician-nurse practitioner teamwork in primary care practices in New York: a cross-sectional survey.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Apr;35(4):1021-28. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05509-2..
Keywords: Primary Care: Models of Care, Primary Care, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider, Workforce, Quality of Care
Adler-Milstein J, Zhao W, Willard-Grace R
Electronic health records and burnout: time spent on the electronic health record after hours and message volume associated with exhaustion but not with cynicism among primary care clinicians
This study examined whether objective measures of electronic health record (EHR) use-related to time, volume of work, and proficiency are associated with either exhaustion or cynicism. The authors combined Maslach Burnout Inventory survey measures with objective, vendor-defined EHR use measures from log files. Data was collected from all primary care clinics of a large, urban medical academic center in early 2018. One-third of clinicians had high cynicism and 51% had high emotional exhaustion. The clinicians with the most exhaustion spent time using the EHR after hours.
AHRQ-funded; HS022241.
Citation: Adler-Milstein J, Zhao W, Willard-Grace R .
Electronic health records and burnout: time spent on the electronic health record after hours and message volume associated with exhaustion but not with cynicism among primary care clinicians
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2020 Apr;27(4):531-38. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz220..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Burnout, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider, Primary Care
Than C, Chuang E, Washington DL
Understanding gender sensitivity of the health care workforce at the Veterans Health Administration.
Gender sensitivity of providers and staff has assumed increasing importance in closing historical gender disparities in health care quality and outcomes. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented several initiatives intended to improve gender sensitivity of its health care workforce. The current study examined practice- and individual-level characteristics associated with gender sensitivity of primary care providers (PCPs) and staff.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Than C, Chuang E, Washington DL .
Understanding gender sensitivity of the health care workforce at the Veterans Health Administration.
Womens Health Issues 2020 Mar-Apr;30(2):120-27. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2020.01.001..
Keywords: Workforce, Provider, Primary Care, Disparities, Quality of Care