National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Adverse Events (4)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 56 Research Studies DisplayedFranklin PD, Bond CP, Rothrock NE
Strategies for effective implementation of patient-reported outcome measures in arthroplasty practice.
This study’s goal was to synthesize patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) implementation strategies that are successfully used by hundreds of arthroplasty surgeons and early PROM-adopter clinical systems. The authors developed guidelines to inform clinical care, drive quality-improvement activities, and support reporting for payer-sponsored incentives. They also outlined future research that is needed to define methods for optimal patient engagement, technology infrastructure, and operational systems to seamlessly integrate PROM collection in clinical care.
AHRQ-funded; HS018910.
Citation: Franklin PD, Bond CP, Rothrock NE .
Strategies for effective implementation of patient-reported outcome measures in arthroplasty practice.
J Bone Joint Surg Am 2021 Dec 15;103(24):e97. doi: 10.2106/jbjs.20.02072..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Orthopedics, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Evidence-Based Practice, Implementation, Outcomes
Fris E, Sedlock E, Etchegaray J
Development and testing of the Stakeholder Quality Improvement Perspectives Survey (SQuIPS).
The authors created a theory-informed survey that quality improvement (QI) teams can use to understand stakeholder perceptions of an intervention. Through a cross-sectional survey of QI stakeholders, they found that The Stakeholder Quality Improvement Perspectives Survey was feasible for QI teams to use, and it identified stakeholder perspectives about QI interventions that leaders used to alter their QI interventions to potentially increase the likelihood of stakeholder acceptance of the intervention.
AHRQ-funded; HS024459.
Citation: Fris E, Sedlock E, Etchegaray J .
Development and testing of the Stakeholder Quality Improvement Perspectives Survey (SQuIPS).
BMJ Open Qual 2021 Dec;10(4). doi: 10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001332..
Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Patient Safety, Newborns/Infants
Gephart SM, Newnam K, Weiss A
Feasibility and acceptability of a Neonatal Project ECHO (NeoECHO) as a dissemination and implementation strategy to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis.
Investigators examined the feasibility and acceptability of the care tools bundle NeoECHO to disseminate NEC-Zero education and describe the intentions of internal facilitators and clinicians to initiate quality improvement changes. They found that NeoECHO was an acceptable and feasible way to engage under-resourced NICUs and share NEC-Zero evidence and tools. They recommended more research to examine the impact of NeoECHO on care processes and patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS022908.
Citation: Gephart SM, Newnam K, Weiss A .
Feasibility and acceptability of a Neonatal Project ECHO (NeoECHO) as a dissemination and implementation strategy to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis.
Worldviews Evid Based Nurs 2021 Dec;18(6):361-70. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12529..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Implementation
Davila H, Shippee TP, Park YS
Inside the black box of improving on nursing home quality measures.
This qualitative study investigated how nursing homes (NHs) interact with quality measures (QMs) used by Nursing Home Compare (NHC) as part of its 5-star rating system. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 110 NH personnel and 23 NH provider association representatives. Observations of organizational processes in 12 NHs in three states were also done. The authors found that most NHs are working to improve the quality of care they provide, not merely to improve their QM scores. They also found limitations with the QMs, suggesting that the QMs on their own may not accurately reflect the quality of care that NHs provide. The findings suggest several changes to improve NHC.
AHRQ-funded; HS024967.
Citation: Davila H, Shippee TP, Park YS .
Inside the black box of improving on nursing home quality measures.
Med Care Res Rev 2021 Dec;78(6):758-70. doi: 10.1177/1077558720960326..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Long-Term Care
Bender M, Williams M, Cruz MF
A study protocol to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Clinical Nurse Leader care model in improving quality and safety outcomes.
The authors discuss the Clinical Nurse Leader care model, a Hybrid Type II Implementation-Effectiveness study to evaluate the effect of the care model on standardized quality and safety outcomes and to identify implementation characteristics that are sufficient and necessary to achieve outcomes. Findings are expected to elucidate Registered Nurse's mechanisms of action as organized into frontline models of care and link actions to improved care quality and safety.
AHRQ-funded; HS027181.
Citation: Bender M, Williams M, Cruz MF .
A study protocol to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Clinical Nurse Leader care model in improving quality and safety outcomes.
Nurs Open 2021 Nov;8(6):3688-96. doi: 10.1002/nop2.910..
Keywords: Implementation, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Nursing, Evidence-Based Practice
Vaughan CP, Hwang U, Vandenberg AE
Early prescribing outcomes after exporting the EQUIPPED medication safety improvement programme.
Enhancing quality of prescribing practices for older adults discharged from the Emergency Department (EQUIPPED) aims to reduce the monthly proportion of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prescribed to older adults discharged from the ED to 5% or less. In this paper, the investigator described prescribing outcomes at three academic health systems adapting and sequentially implementing the EQUIPPED medication safety programme.
AHRQ-funded; HS024499.
Citation: Vaughan CP, Hwang U, Vandenberg AE .
Early prescribing outcomes after exporting the EQUIPPED medication safety improvement programme.
BMJ Open Qual 2021 Nov;10(4). doi: 10.1136/bmjoq-2021-001369..
Keywords: Elderly, Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Emergency Department, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Delaney LD, Howard R, Palazzolo K
Outcomes of a presurgical optimization program for elective hernia repairs among high-risk patients.
The authors evaluated the feasibility of evidence-based patient optimization before surgery by implementing a low-cost preoperative optimization clinic. They found that a hernia optimization clinic safely improved management of high-risk patients and increased operative yield for the institution. They concluded that their results represented an opportunity to create sustainable and scalable models that provide longitudinal care and optimize patients to improve outcomes of hernia repair.
AHRQ-funded; HS025778.
Citation: Delaney LD, Howard R, Palazzolo K .
Outcomes of a presurgical optimization program for elective hernia repairs among high-risk patients.
JAMA Netw Open 2021 Nov;4(11):e2130016. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.30016..
Keywords: Surgery, Risk, Evidence-Based Practice, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Outcomes
Quigley DD, Elliott MN, Slaughter ME
Shadow coaching improves patient experience with care, but gains erode later.
Health care organizations strive to improve patient care experiences. Some use one-on-one provider counseling (shadow coaching) to identify and target modifiable provider behaviors. In this study, the investigators examined whether shadow coaching improved patient experience across 44 primary care practices in a large urban Federally Qualified Health Center. The investigators concluded that shadow coaching improved providers' overall performance and communication immediately after being coached.
AHRQ-funded; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Elliott MN, Slaughter ME .
Shadow coaching improves patient experience with care, but gains erode later.
Med Care 2021 Nov;59(11):950-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001629..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Primary Care
Schechter S, Jaladanki S, Rodean J
Sustainability of paediatric asthma care quality in community hospitals after ending a national quality improvement collaborative.
Community hospitals, which care for most hospitalised children in the USA, may be vulnerable to declines in paediatric care quality when quality improvement (QI) initiatives end. In this study, the investigators aimed to evaluate changes in care quality in community hospitals after the end of the Pathways for Improving Paediatric Asthma Care (PIPA) national QI collaborative. The investigators concluded that the end of the paediatric asthma QI collaborative was associated with concerning declines in guideline adherence in community hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS027041.
Citation: Schechter S, Jaladanki S, Rodean J .
Sustainability of paediatric asthma care quality in community hospitals after ending a national quality improvement collaborative.
BMJ Qual Saf 2021 Nov;30(11):876-83. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2020-012292..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Asthma, Respiratory Conditions, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Linzer M, Neprash H, Brown R
Where trust flourishes: perceptions of clinicians who trust their organizations and are trusted by their patients.
Investigators sought to determine perceived characteristics of clinics by clinicians who trust their organizations and whose patients have trust in them. Baseline data was obtained from the Healthy Work Place trial and included 165 clinicians with 1,132 patients. They found that high clinician-high patient trust occurred when clinicians perceived their organizational cultures to have (1) an emphasis on quality, (2) an emphasis on communication and information, (3) cohesiveness among clinicians, and (4) values alignment between clinicians and leaders.
AHRQ-funded; HS018160.
Citation: Linzer M, Neprash H, Brown R .
Where trust flourishes: perceptions of clinicians who trust their organizations and are trusted by their patients.
Ann Fam Med 2021 Nov-Dec;19(6):521-26. doi: 10.1370/afm.2732..
Keywords: Practice Improvement, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Roberts ET, Song Z, Ding L
Changes in patient experiences and assessment of gaming among large clinician practices in precursors of the merit-based incentive payment system.
Medicare's Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), a public reporting and pay-for-performance program, adjusts clinician payments based on publicly reported measures that are chosen primarily by clinicians or their practices. Within precursor programs of the MIPS, this study examined 1) practices' selection of Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) patient experience measures for quality scoring under pay-for-performance and 2) the association between mandated public reporting on CAHPS measures and performance on those measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS026727.
Citation: Roberts ET, Song Z, Ding L .
Changes in patient experiences and assessment of gaming among large clinician practices in precursors of the merit-based incentive payment system.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Oct;2(10). doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.3105..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Medicare, Provider Performance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Baughman AW, Triantafylidis LK, O'Neil N
Improving medication reconciliation with comprehensive evaluation at a Veterans Affairs skilled nursing facility.
This study described a quality improvement (QI) approach to improve medication reconciliation in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) setting as part of the Multi-Center Medication Reconciliation Quality Improvement Study 2 (MARQUIS2). Findings showed that SNFs represent a critical setting for medication reconciliation efforts due to challenges completing the reconciliation process and the concomitant high risk of adverse drug events in this population. Initial baseline assessments effectively identified existing problems and can be used to guide targeted interventions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023757.
Citation: Baughman AW, Triantafylidis LK, O'Neil N .
Improving medication reconciliation with comprehensive evaluation at a Veterans Affairs skilled nursing facility.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2021 Oct;47(10):646-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2021.06.001..
Keywords: Medication, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Shi J, Hurdle JF, Johnson SA
Natural language processing for the surveillance of postoperative venous thromboembolism.
The objective of the study was to develop a portal natural language processing approach to aid in the identification of postoperative venous thromboembolism events from free-text clinical notes. The investigators concluded that accurate surveillance of postoperative venous thromboembolism may be achieved using natural language processing on clinical notes in 2 independent health care systems. They indicated that these findings suggest natural language processing may augment manual chart abstraction for large registries such as National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
AHRQ-funded; HS025776.
Citation: Shi J, Hurdle JF, Johnson SA .
Natural language processing for the surveillance of postoperative venous thromboembolism.
Surgery 2021 Oct;170(4):1175-82. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2021.04.027..
Keywords: Blood Clots, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Surgery, Adverse Events
Cardell CF, Knapp L, Cohen ME
Successful implementation of enhanced recovery in elective colorectal surgery is variable and dependent on the local environment.
This study looked at the results of a national colorectal enhanced recovery program (ERP) to improve patient outcomes. A total of 207 hospitals participated between 2017 and 2020. Quantitative (patient-level process and outcome) and qualitative (survey and structured interviews with hospital teams) data were collected and analyzed. Results shows that 62 hospitals were characterized as High Performance, and 52 as High Improvement. High Performance hospitals were larger with more annual colorectal surgeries. Fewer barriers to staff-buy-in and competing priorities, and more experience with standardized perioperative care were also characteristics of High Performance hospitals. High Improvement hospitals had lower baseline process measure (PM) adherence and less experience with perioperative care but had positive trends in annual patient outcomes such as annual morbidity, readmission, and prolonged length of stay compared to Low Improvement Hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Cardell CF, Knapp L, Cohen ME .
Successful implementation of enhanced recovery in elective colorectal surgery is variable and dependent on the local environment.
Ann Surg 2021 Oct 1;274(4):605-12. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000005069..
Keywords: Surgery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider Performance
Quigley DD, Slaughter ME, Gidengil C
Usefulness of child HCAHPS survey data for improving inpatient pediatric care experiences.
Quality improvement (QI) requires data, indicators, and national benchmarks. Knowledge about the usefulness of Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (Child HCAHPS) data are lacking. In this study the investigators examined quality leader and frontline staff perceptions about patient experience measurement and use of Child HCAHPS data for QI. The investigators surveyed children's hospital leaders and staff about their use of Child HCAHPS for QI, including measures from other studies. They compared scale and item means for leaders and staff and compared means to other studies.
AHRQ-funded; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Slaughter ME, Gidengil C .
Usefulness of child HCAHPS survey data for improving inpatient pediatric care experiences.
Hosp Pediatr 2021 Oct;11(10):e199-e214. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-004283..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Patient Experience, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures, Quality of Care
MacDonald J, Doyle L, Moore
Sustainment of proactive physical therapy for individuals with early-stage Parkinson's disease: a quality improvement study over 4 years.
The purpose of this study is to describe the process of sustaining a proactive physical therapy (PAPT) program in practice for 4 years for patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease. Sustainability was measured using RE-AIM, NHS Sustainability Model, and the Clinical Sustainability Assessment Tool. Reach increased from 28 to 110 total patients per year. The program sustained its effect to help participants increase or maintain self-reported exercise. Upon evaluation, PAPT users in year 3 had longer time since symptom onset and worse UPDRS motor scores compared to year 1 PAPT users.
AHRQ-funded; HS025077.
Citation: MacDonald J, Doyle L, Moore .
Sustainment of proactive physical therapy for individuals with early-stage Parkinson's disease: a quality improvement study over 4 years.
Implement Sci Commun 2021 Sep 27;2(1):111. doi: 10.1186/s43058-021-00205-x..
Keywords: Neurological Disorders, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Care Management
O'Kane M, Agrawal S, Binder L
AHRQ Author: Meyers D
An equity agenda for the field of health care quality improvement.
The authors of this paper assert that the U.S. health system must take action to centralize equity, particularly racial equity (including ethnicity), in discussions of quality. In this discussion paper, the authors provide an analysis and delineation of the key elements of their racial equity agenda for the field of health care quality improvement.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: O'Kane M, Agrawal S, Binder L .
An equity agenda for the field of health care quality improvement.
NAM Perspect 2021 Sep 15;2021. doi: 10.31478/202109b..
Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Social Determinants of Health
Ye J, Zhang R, Bannon JE
Identifying practice facilitation delays and barriers in primary care quality improvement.
Practice facilitation is an effective approach to implementing quality improvement (QI) interventions in practice-based research networks (PBRNs). Regular facilitator-practice interactions are necessary for successful facilitation and missed engagements may hinder the process of practice improvement. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to characterize the dynamics of practice facilitation and examine facilitation delays and barriers, as well as their association with the achievement of QI program goals in a PBRN initiative.
AHRQ-funded; HS023921.
Citation: Ye J, Zhang R, Bannon JE .
Identifying practice facilitation delays and barriers in primary care quality improvement.
J Am Board Fam Med 2020 Sep-Oct;33(5):655-64. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2020.05.200058..
Keywords: Practice Improvement, Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Markovitz AA, Ayanian JZ, Warrier A
Medicare Advantage plan double bonuses drive racial disparity in payments, yield no quality or enrollment improvements.
Using national data for 2008-18, investigators found that double bonuses were not associated with either improvements in plan quality or increased Medicare Advantage enrollment. Additionally, double bonuses increased payments to plans to care for Black beneficiaries by $60 per year, compared with $91 for White beneficiaries. These findings suggest that double bonuses not only fail to improve quality and enrollment but also foster a racially inequitable distribution of Medicare funds that disfavors Black beneficiaries. This study supports eliminating double bonuses, thereby saving Medicare an estimated $1.8 billion per year.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053.
Citation: Markovitz AA, Ayanian JZ, Warrier A .
Medicare Advantage plan double bonuses drive racial disparity in payments, yield no quality or enrollment improvements.
Health Aff 2021 Sep;40(9):1411-19. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00349..
Keywords: Medicare, Health Insurance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Quigley DD, Slaughter M, Qureshi N
Practices and changes associated with patient-centered medical home transformation.
Knowing which patient-centered medical home (PCMH) care delivery changes and quality improvement (QI) practices further PCMH implementation is essential. In this study, the investigators used the 2008-2017 National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) PCMH directory of 15,188 primary care practices that received Level 1, 2, or 3 NCQA PCMH recognition to: 1.) construct a stratified national sample of 105 practices engaged in PCMH transformation and 2.) examine their QI practices and PCMH changes associated with PCMH transformation.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Slaughter M, Qureshi N .
Practices and changes associated with patient-centered medical home transformation.
Am J Manag Care 2021 Sep;27(9):386-93. doi: 10.37765/ajmc.2021.88740..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Primary Care, Practice Improvement, Healthcare Delivery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Quigley DD, Qureshi N, AlMasarweh L
Using CAHPS patient experience data for patient-centered medical home transformation.
The purpose of this study was to examine how primary care practices used the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey and its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) items during their PCMH transition. The investigators concluded that CAHPS surveys were considered actionable for PCMH transformation and used in standardizing and coordinating care. The CAHPS PCMH items were considered integral to the continuous QI needed for moving beyond formal PCMH recognition and maximizing transformation.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Qureshi N, AlMasarweh L .
Using CAHPS patient experience data for patient-centered medical home transformation.
Am J Manag Care 2021 Sep;27(9):e322-e29. doi: 10.37765/ajmc.2021.88745..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Primary Care, Practice Improvement, Healthcare Delivery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Chilakamarri P, Finn EB, Sather J
Failure mode and effect analysis: engineering safer neurocritical care transitions.
Investigators presented failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) as a systems-engineering methodology to be applied to neurocritical care transitions to reduce failures in communication and improve patient safety. They described their local implementation of FMEA to improve the safety of inter-hospital transfer for patients with intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage as evidence of success. They found that application of the FMEA approach yielded meaningful and sustained process change for patients with neurocritical care needs.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Chilakamarri P, Finn EB, Sather J .
Failure mode and effect analysis: engineering safer neurocritical care transitions.
Neurocrit Care 2021 Aug;35(1):232-40. doi: 10.1007/s12028-020-01160-6..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Transitions of Care, Critical Care, Communication, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Schechter SB, Pantell MS, Parikh K
Impact of a national quality collaborative on pediatric asthma care quality by insurance status.
The objective of this study was to assess whether disparities in asthma care and outcomes based on insurance type existed before a national quality improvement (QI) collaborative, and to determine the effects of the collaborative on these disparities. The investigators concluded that at baseline, children with public insurance had higher asthma health care utilization than those with private insurance, despite receiving more evidence-based care.
AHRQ-funded; HS026383; HS024554; HS024592.
Citation: Schechter SB, Pantell MS, Parikh K .
Impact of a national quality collaborative on pediatric asthma care quality by insurance status.
Acad Pediatr 2021 Aug;21(6):1018-24. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.02.009..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Asthma, Chronic Conditions, Disparities, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Health Insurance
Ling VB, Levi EE, Harrington AR
The cost of improving care: a multisite economic analysis of hospital resource use for implementing recommended postpartum contraception programmes.
Researchers evaluated the cost of implementing immediate postpartum contraceptive services at four academic centers and one private hospital in the US. Using mixed-methods cost analysis, they found that pre-implementation activities required more resources than execution activities, and sites that used lower-cost employees observed lower costs per hour for implementation activities. Further, implementation activities and costs were associated with local contextual factors, including stakeholder acceptance, integration of employees, and infrastructure readiness for the change effort.
AHRQ-funded; HS025465; HS023784.
Citation: Ling VB, Levi EE, Harrington AR .
The cost of improving care: a multisite economic analysis of hospital resource use for implementing recommended postpartum contraception programmes.
BMJ Qual Saf 2021 Aug;30(8):658-67. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2020-011111..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Sexual Health, Women, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Cifra CL, Sittig DF, Singh H
Bridging the feedback gap: a sociotechnical approach to informing clinicians of patients' subsequent clinical course and outcomes.
This paper discusses challenges to the development of systems for effective patient outcome feedback to improve diagnosis and proposes the application of a sociotechnical approach using health information technology (HIT) to support the implementation of such systems. It discusses current barriers to effective clinician feedback, reasons for them, and features of potential IT solutions. Evaluation and implementation of the feedback process within a sociotechnical health system are then discussed. The authors use an eight-dimension sociotechnical model for studying health IT by authors Sittig and Singh. The eight dimensions are hardware and software; clinical content; human–computer interface; people; workflow and communication; organisational policies and procedures; external rules, regulations and pressures; and system measurement and monitoring. A table is included that shows the potential considerations for each dimension.
AHRQ-funded; 33201500022I; HS027363.
Citation: Cifra CL, Sittig DF, Singh H .
Bridging the feedback gap: a sociotechnical approach to informing clinicians of patients' subsequent clinical course and outcomes.
BMJ Qual Saf 2021 Jul;30(7):591-97. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2020-012464..
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care