Data Brief Provides Insights Into Heat-Related Emergency Department Visits
Issue Number
812
April 26, 2022
AHRQ Stats: State Variations in Mental Disorders
Rates of hospitalization for depressive disorders varied from 47.9 to 291.9 per 100,000 population across 38 states during 2016-2018. Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders hospitalization rates varied from 20.4 to 200.8 per every 100,000. (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #288, Geographic Variation in Inpatient Stays for Five Leading Mental Disorders, 2016-2018.)
Today's Headlines:
- Data Brief Provides Insights Into Heat-Related Emergency Department Visits.
- AHRQ Views Blog: In Recognition of Earth Day, Celebrating Hope Through Action.
- Register Now for June 1 Webinar on Real-World Uses of Clinical Decision Support.
- Study Finds CAHPS® Scores Effective at Identifying Where Clinician Improvement Is Needed.
- Dental Opioid Prescriptions Have Fallen Over Time, AHRQ Study Finds.
- Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
- AHRQ in the Professional Literature.
Data Brief Provides Insights Into Heat-Related Emergency Department Visits
A first-time data analysis by AHRQ showed that emergency department (ED) visits due to extreme heat exposure varied widely among states in 2019. Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kentucky and Missouri had the highest population rates of ED visits due to heat exposure. The states with the lowest rates were Alaska, Wyoming, New York, Montana and Colorado. Similarly, researchers noted variations in county-specific rates of heat-related ED visits. Rural counties were more likely to have higher rates of ED visits related to heat exposure—a finding that challenges assumptions that health problems related to extreme heat are most acute in urban areas. Rural counties were more likely to have higher rates of ED visits related to heat exposure than large metropolitan counties (31.5 vs. 8.4 percent, respectively). The analysis, which recognizes that heat waves are expected to become more frequent and severe due to climate change, may inform prevention strategies, such as heat alert protocols, changes to built environments, and public education programs. Access the data brief (PDF, 1.2 MB) from AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
AHRQ Views Blog: In Recognition of Earth Day, Celebrating Hope Through Action
An AHRQ Views blog post in recognition of Earth Day 2022 highlighted emerging agency efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change. David Meyers, M.D., AHRQ’s deputy director, and Brent Sandmeyer, M.P.H., who leads the agency’s climate change working group, noted that AHRQ has not traditionally focused on climate change. Its impacts, however, are having significant consequences on human health and the healthcare system’s capacity to provide care. The blog noted several ways that AHRQ is aligned with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Climate Action Plan (PDF, 1 MB). Among them: a new data analysis (PDF, 1.2 MB) that provides first-time insights into emergency department visits resulting from extreme heat; a recent effort to assemble experts to identify key climate change issues; steps aimed at building partnerships with government and private-sector entities; and efforts to establish a measurement framework and action guide to accelerate decarbonization in health systems. Access the blog post. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address and select “AHRQ Views Blog.”
Register Now for June 1 Webinar on Real-World Uses of Clinical Decision Support
An AHRQ webinar on June 1 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET will highlight lessons learned from pilot projects that integrated patient-generated health data with clinical data in electronic health records (EHRs). Patient engagement applications, medical devices and clinical decision support (CDS) tools are increasingly used to support the management of clinical conditions and shared decision-making. But patient-generated health data is not typically integrated into EHRs, hampering clinician workflows, patient-clinician engagement, and clinical decision-making. Webinar panelists will share actionable findings from two pilots that deployed CDS interventions that combined patient-generated health data with clinical data from EHRs to support remote patient monitoring at Yale New Haven Health. Learn more and register.
Study Finds CAHPS® Scores Effective at Identifying Where Clinician Improvement Is Needed
Scores on AHRQ’s Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Clinician and Group Survey were effective in identifying clinicians who would benefit from one-on-one shadow coaching to improve interactions with patients in a large, urban federally qualified health center. The results of this AHRQ-funded research, published in Quality Management in Health Care, found that CAHPS® Clinician and Group Survey scores successfully identified where improvement is needed, but were not always informative enough to instruct clinicians on how to improve interactions with patients. Study authors indicated that patient experience data should be supplemented with explicit, tangible and actionable recommendations for clinicians to modify and improve their interactions with patients. The CAHPS® program advances scientific understanding of patients’ experience with healthcare; CAHPS’® Clinician and Groups Survey focuses on patients’ experiences with clinicians and staff in primary and specialty care settings. Access the abstract.
Dental Opioid Prescriptions Have Fallen Over Time, AHRQ Study Finds
Opioid prescriptions written by dentists have declined since 2012, an AHRQ-funded study found. The study, published in in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that prescriptions for opioids written by dentists and dental specialists decreased by 58.4 percent (347.10 to 156.88 prescriptions) per 100,000 population from January 2012 through December 2019. The decline accelerated after 2016, following the implementation of strategies aimed to regulate opioid prescribing further, researchers said. They concluded that while current strategies target all prescribers, understanding how they influence dentists can aid in development of strategies specific to dentists, especially to high opioid prescribers. Study authors indicated that future research should focus on understanding dentists’ perspective on risk mitigation strategies, identifying factors associated with decreased opioid prescribing and determining if reductions in dental opioid prescribing results in clinically meaningful decreases in opioid-related outcomes. Access the abstract.
Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network
AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:
- Systems-level factors affecting registered nurses during care of women in labor experiencing clinical deterioration.
- Effects of tall man lettering on the visual behaviour of critical care nurses while identifying syringe drug labels: a randomised in situ simulation.
- The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff.
Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue or access recent cases and commentaries in AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).
AHRQ in the Professional Literature
Estimated population access to acute stroke and telestroke centers in the US, 2019. Zachrison KS, Cash RE, Adeoye O, et al. JAMA Netw Open 2022 Feb;5(2):e2145824. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
Medicaid expansion increased appointment wait times in Maine and Virginia. Auty SG, Griffith KN. J Gen Intern Med 2021 Aug 12. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.
Trends in health care use and spending for young children with neurologic impairment. Bayer ND, Hall M, Li Y, et al. Pediatrics 2022 Jan;149(1):e2021050905. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
Effects of a refined evidence-based toolkit and mentored implementation on medication reconciliation at 18 hospitals: results of the MARQUIS2 study. Schnipper JL, Reyes Nieva H, Mallouk M, et al. BMJ Qual Saf 2022 Apr;31(4):278-86. Epub 2021 Apr 29. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
Network size or proximity? Association of network characteristics with violence-related stress and PTSD among racial/ethnic minorities in Chicago. Akingbade O, Peek ME, Tung EL. J Gen Intern Med 2022 Jan;37(1):255-7. Epub 2021 Jan 27. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
Survey of information exchange and advanced use of other health information technology in primary care settings: capabilities in and outside of the safety net. Cross DA, Stevens MA, Spivack SB, et al. Med Care 2022 Feb;60(2):140-8. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
"This is not negotiable. You need to do this…": a directed content analysis of decision making in rehabilitation after knee arthroplasty. Graber J, Lockhart S, Matlock DD, et al. J Eval Clin Pract 2022 Feb;28(1):99-107. Epub 2021 Jun 14. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
Association of county-level availability of pediatricians with emergency department visits. Michelson KA, Cushing AM, Bucholz EM. Pediatr Emerg Care 2022 Feb;38(2):e953-e7. Access the abstract on PubMed®.