National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (1)
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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 7 of 7 Research Studies DisplayedMullens CL, Lussiez A, Scott JW
Association of health professional shortage area hospital designation with surgical outcomes and expenditures among Medicare beneficiaries.
This study’s objective was to compare surgical outcomes and expenditures at hospitals located in Health Professional Shortage Areas to nonshortage area designated hospitals among Medicare beneficiaries. This cross-sectional retrospective study used data from 842,787 Medicare beneficiary patient admissions to hospitals with and without Health Professional Shortage Area designations for common operations including appendectomy, cholecystectomy, colectomy, and hernia repair from 2014 to 2018. Primary outcomes measures were 30-day mortality, hospital readmissions, and 30-day surgical episode payments. Patients (mean age=75.6 years, males=44.4%) undergoing common surgical procedures in shortage area hospitals were less likely to be White (84.6% vs 88.4%) and less likely to have≥2 Elixhauser comorbidities (75.5% vs 78.2%). Patients undergoing surgery at Health Professional Shortage Area hospitals had lower risk-adjusted rates of 30-day mortality (6.05% vs 6.69%) and readmission (14.99% vs 15.74%). Medicare expenditures at Health Professional Shortage Area hospitals were also lower than nonshortage designated hospitals ($28,517 vs $29,685).
AHRQ-funded; HS028606; HS028672.
Citation: Mullens CL, Lussiez A, Scott JW .
Association of health professional shortage area hospital designation with surgical outcomes and expenditures among Medicare beneficiaries.
Ann Surg 2023 Oct 1; 278(4):e733-e39. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000005762..
Keywords: Hospitals, Surgery, Medicare, Healthcare Costs, Workforce, Outcomes
Mullens CL, Lussiez A, Scott JW
High-risk surgery among Medicare beneficiaries living in health professional shortage areas.
This study’s objective was to compare high-risk surgical outcomes at hospitals located in Health Professional Shortage Areas to nonshortage area designated hospitals among Medicare beneficiaries. The authors performed a retrospective review of Medicare beneficiaries living in health professional shortage areas and nonshortage areas who underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass graft, esophagectomy, liver resection, pancreatectomy, or rectal resection between 2014 and 2018. They compared rates of postoperative complications and 30-day mortality between the patient cohorts. They used beneficiary and hospital ZIP codes to quantify travel time to obtain care. Compared with patients living in nonshortage areas, patients living in health professional shortage areas traveled longer (median 60.0 vs 28.0 minutes). There were no differences in risk-adjusted rates of complications (28.5% vs 28.6%) and small differences in rates of 30-day mortality (4.2% vs 4.4%) between beneficiaries living in shortage areas versus those not in shortage areas, respectively.
AHRQ-funded; HS028606; HS028672; HS027788.
Citation: Mullens CL, Lussiez A, Scott JW .
High-risk surgery among Medicare beneficiaries living in health professional shortage areas.
J Rural Health 2023 Sep; 39(4):824-32. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12748..
Keywords: Surgery, Hospitals, Workforce, Medicare, Outcomes
Neprash HT, Zink A, Sheridan B
The effect of Medicaid expansion on Medicaid participation, payer mix, and labor supply in primary care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024455.
Citation: Neprash HT, Zink A, Sheridan B .
The effect of Medicaid expansion on Medicaid participation, payer mix, and labor supply in primary care.
J Health Econ 2021 Dec;80:102541. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102541..
Keywords: Medicare, Healthcare Utilization, Primary Care, Workforce, Health Insurance
Gettel CJ, Canavan ME, D'Onofrio G
Who provides what care? An analysis of clinical focus among the national emergency care workforce.
This study looked at the clinical focus of emergency department (ED) workers using the 2017 Medicare Public Use Files for clinicians receiving reimbursement for emergency care Evaluation & Management (E/M) services for Medicare fee-for-service Part B. Clinicians were categorized as EM physicians, non-EM physicians, and advanced practice providers (APPs). Of the 65,710 unique clinicians providing care, 59.4% were classified as EM physicians, 12.4% as non-EM physicians, and 28.5% as APPs. EM physicians have twice as much clinician median focus in comparison to EM physicians providing emergency care (92.8% vs 45.2) and APPs are focused 100%.
AHRQ-funded; HS023614.
Citation: Gettel CJ, Canavan ME, D'Onofrio G .
Who provides what care? An analysis of clinical focus among the national emergency care workforce.
Am J Emerg Med 2021 Apr;42:228-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2020.11.069..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider, Medicare
Jalali A, Martin C, Nelson RE
Provider practice competition and adoption of Medicare's Oncology Care Model.
The purpose of this study was to measure the association between regional market competition among medical oncologists with the initial adoption of the Oncology Care Model (OCM). Findings showed that practices in competitive health care markets were more likely to adopt OCM than in noncompetitive markets. Average practice size, number of practices in a hospital referral region, and the hospital bed rate were positively associated with adoption, whereas the rate of full-time equivalent hospital employees to 1000 residents was negatively associated with adoption. Recommendations included careful monitoring of market-level changes among OCM adopters to ensure that the benefits of the OCM outweigh the negative consequences of possible changes in competition.
AHRQ-funded; HS024714.
Citation: Jalali A, Martin C, Nelson RE .
Provider practice competition and adoption of Medicare's Oncology Care Model.
Med Care 2020 Feb;58(2):154-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001243..
Keywords: Medicare, Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider
Everson J, Richards MR, Buntin MB
Horizontal and vertical integration's role in meaningful use attestation over time.
This study examined rates of attestation and attrition from the meaningful use (MU) program by independent, horizontally integrated, and vertically integrated physicians. The goal was to determine if MU created pressure for independent physicians to join integrated organizations. They compared attestation rates using secondary data from SK&A and Medicare MU Files from 2011-2016 with office-based physicians. The sample size was 291,234 physicians. Forty-nine percent of physicians that remained independent during the period attested to MU at least once during the program, compared with 70% that remained horizontally or vertically integrated. There was also significantly more attrition among independent physicians than those physicians who were integrated.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Everson J, Richards MR, Buntin MB .
Horizontal and vertical integration's role in meaningful use attestation over time.
Health Serv Res 2019 Oct;54(5):1075-83. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13193..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider, Medicare
Loresto FL, Jr., Jupiter D, Kuo YF
Examining differences in characteristics between patients receiving primary care from nurse practitioners or physicians using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data and Medicare claims data.
There is a perception that nurse practitioners (NPs), as compared with primary care medical doctors (PCMDs), tend to provide care to healthier patients. In this study, patients utilizing NP-only or PCMD-only models for primary care were characterized and compared in terms of functional, cognitive, and psychological factors. The results were contrary to the initial perception. In terms of health status, NP-only patients were similar to PCMD-only patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS020642.
Citation: Loresto FL, Jr., Jupiter D, Kuo YF .
Examining differences in characteristics between patients receiving primary care from nurse practitioners or physicians using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data and Medicare claims data.
J Am Assoc Nurse Pract 2017 Jun;29(6):340-47. doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12465.
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Keywords: Provider: Health Personnel, Medicare, Primary Care, Workforce