Two New Issue Briefs Examine Diagnosis Improvement and Healthcare Excellence

AHRQ Stats: Trends in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia by Hospital Type

Overall, the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia increased by more than 100 percent between 2019 and 2021 regardless of hospital type. This increase ranged from 133.9 percent at critical access hospitals to 377.7 percent at small hospitals. (Source: AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #314, Hospital Differences in Adult Inpatient Stays with Healthcare-Associated Infections, 2019 and 2021 [PDF,  388 KB].)

Today’s Headlines

• Two New Issue Briefs Examine Diagnosis Improvement and Healthcare Excellence.
• AHRQ-Funded Study Compares Human and AI-Generated Perspectives on Technology Adoption in Long-Term Care.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• Updates to AHRQ Data Resources.
• Recording of Digital Healthcare Research Program’s AI Tools Webinar Now Available.
• Register for April 21 Informational Webinar on AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CLABSI.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Two New Issue Briefs Examine Diagnosis Improvement and Healthcare Excellence

AHRQ has released two new issue briefs on improving diagnosis and healthcare delivery. Exploration of Foundational Terminology and Paradigms for Improving Diagnosis examines varying terms and perspectives that describe successful or failed diagnoses. It provides a historical context for these terms, their pros and cons and usage guidance. Four Pillars for Sustainable Centers of Excellence provides recommendations for Centers of Excellence on how to create sustainability plans that help them to succeed long-term. These centers, part of healthcare organizations, aim to improve care and research on complex topics, such as diagnostic safety. The brief highlights key factors for lasting success, including strong leadership, teamwork and alignment with larger goals. 

AHRQ-Funded Study Compares Human and AI-Generated Perspectives on Technology Adoption in Long-Term Care

An AHRQ-funded project explored how different qualitative analysis methods shape our understanding of technology use in long-term and post-acute care. Published in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, the study asked both human analysts and a ChatGPT-4.0 tool to identify insights from focus group sessions held during the 2024 International Summit on Innovation and Technology for the Care of Older People. While both approaches identified similar themes regarding technology design, ethics, training needs and patient-centered care, human and ChatGPT-based analysis diverged in focus and framing. Human analysts emphasized abstract concepts such as humanity, conceptual frameworks and policy-level determinants, while the ChatGPT analyses offered detailed, technology-centered summaries with practical and future-oriented insights. Approaches that combine human and AI analyses could enhance understanding of challenges and opportunities in technology for older adult care. 

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• Systematic Review: Management of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Youth: A Systematic Review.
• Systematic Review: Psychosocial and Pharmacologic Interventions for Disruptive Behavior in Children and Adolescents.
• Systematic Review: Implementing Recommended Mental Health and Substance Use Screening and Counseling Interventions in Primary Care Settings for Children and Adolescents.
• Rapid Evidence Product: Assisted Home Dialysis in the United States: New Interest in an Old Idea.
• Rapid Evidence Product: Acute Care Nursing Staff Shortages That Compromise Patient-to-Nurse Ratios.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through May 5): Pharmacologic and Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: 2025 Update of the Evidence Base for the PTSD Trials Standardized Data Repository.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through May 5): Living Systematic Review on Cannabis and Other Plant-Based Treatments for Chronic Pain: 2025 Update.
• Technical Brief: Measure Criteria for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through May 30): Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Wellbeing and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

Updates to AHRQ Data Resources

In the United States, the top 5 percent of spenders typically account for nearly half of all total healthcare expenditures. A new statistical brief from AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey compares characteristics of these spenders and conditions associated with high spending in 2022 with previous years, highlighting changing trends from 2020 to 2022. AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project has also released updated data through HCUPNet and HCUP Fast Stats, with tools exploring topics from children’s hospitalizations to severe maternal morbidity all now featuring 2022 data. 

Recording of Digital Healthcare Research Program’s AI Tools Webinar Now Available

AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research Program hosted the March 18 webinar “Artificial Intelligence Tools to Improve Provider Effectiveness and Patient Outcomes.” Expert panelists from Johns Hopkins, University of Virginia and University of California, Los Angeles, discussed their research on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve provider effectiveness and patient outcomes in clinical settings. Speakers answered audience questions on ways to get buy-in for placing AI in a provider’s workflow, the most challenging aspects of implementing an AI-informed decision support tool and areas of uncertainty in the AI-informed decision support tool space. Access the recording and presenter materials for this event. 

Register for April 21 Informational Webinar on AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CLABSI

• April 21, noon to 12:30 p.m. ET: The AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CLABSI Informational Webinar will explain how participants of the program will receive expert support to prevent infections and promote safety culture.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature 

Food security and mental health in the United States: evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. McClellan CB, Zuvekas SH. J Ment Health Policy Econ 2024 Dec 1;27(4):115-28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Intravenous antibiotics for urinary tract infections in children with neurologic impairment. Starnes LS, Hall M, Williams DJ, et al. J Hosp Med 2024 Jul;19(7):572-80. Epub 2024 Apr 1. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

The development and testing of a single-arm feasibility and acceptability study of a whole foods diet intervention for adults with prediabetes and their offspring. Sneed NM, Kelley R, Turner H, et al. Pilot Feasibility Stud 2024 Oct 23;10(1):130. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Evaluating the impact of the work environment on job outcomes among registered nurses working in outpatient dialysis centers: a cross-sectional study. Iroegbu C, Lasater KB, Brooks-Carthon M. Nephrol Nurs J 2025 Jan-Feb;52(1):23-31. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Integrating out-of-pocket costs into shared decision-making for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a stepped-wedge trial (POCKET-COST-HF). Dickert NW, Speight CD, Balser M, et al. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2025 Jan;18(1):e011273. Epub 2024 Dec 3. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Availability of behavioral health crisis care and associated changes in emergency department utilization. Burns A, Vest JR, Menachemi N, et al. Health Serv Res 2025 Apr;60(2):e14368. Epub 2024 Aug 8. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Comparative effectiveness of buprenorphine adherence with telemedicine vs. in-person for rural and urban patients. Reese TJ, Padi-Adjirackor NA, Griffith KN, et al. J Am Pharm Assoc 2025 Mar-Apr;65(2):102318. Epub 2024 Dec 27. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Evaluation of Measure Dx, a resource to accelerate diagnostic safety learning and improvement. Bradford A, Tran A, Ali KJ, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2025 Mar;40(4):782-9. Epub 2024 Oct 22. Access the abstract on PubMed®.