SOPS® Medical Office Survey Data Submission Is Open September 2–19

Note: Next week’s issue of AHRQ News Now will be delivered on Wednesday, September 3.  

Today’s Headlines:

• SOPS® Medical Office Survey Data Submission Is Open September 2–19.
• August Is Breastfeeding Awareness Month: Report Links Breastfeeding to Multiple Health Benefits for Children.
• Resource Presents Insights on Obtaining Primary Care Research Funding.
• Bundled Payment Model Benefits Patients Beyond Medicare.
• Register for Upcoming Webinars.
• AHRQ Stats: Changes in High Blood Pressure Treatment.  
• New Research and Evidence.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

SOPS® Medical Office Survey Data Submission Is Open September 2–19

Medical offices that have administered AHRQ’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS) Medical Office Survey since October 2023 or plan to do so by September 2025 are invited to submit their data to the SOPS Medical Office Survey Database during the upcoming submission window: September 2–19, 2025.

If your medical office also administered the Diagnostic Safety or Value and Efficiency supplemental items along with the core survey, you may include that data as well. Medical offices submitting data will receive customized feedback reports, comparing their results with aggregated, deidentified data from all participating organizations. Learn more about database submission.

August Is Breastfeeding Awareness Month: Report Links Breastfeeding to Multiple Health Benefits for Children

Breastfeeding is linked to better health outcomes for infants and children and may lower the risk of ear infections, asthma, obesity, and childhood leukemia, according to an AHRQ systematic review. The report synthesizes findings from more than 750 studies on the relationship between breastfeeding and infant and child health outcomes. Longer durations of breastfeeding offer more protection compared with shorter durations or no breastfeeding, although the evidence review did not find a specific duration of breastfeeding to be clearly more beneficial across all health outcomes. There is limited research on how the mode of feeding—breast versus bottle—and the source of human milk—mother versus donor—may affect health outcomes. The report notes the importance of providing educational opportunities for parents so they can make informed decisions for feeding their children. Access the report to learn more for Breastfeeding Awareness Month.

Resource Presents Insights on Obtaining Primary Care Research Funding

Finding sustainable funding is a critical step toward funding primary care research to improve care delivery. “Tips for Obtaining Funding for Primary Care Research,” developed by AHRQ’s National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research, provides expert guidance and resources for locating funding for primary care projects. The result of virtual conversations with stakeholders that occurred in March 2025, the publication includes lists of funding sources and other tips for obtaining financial support. If you’re seeking funding for a primary care research project, explore these tips from AHRQ to help you get started.  

Bundled Payment Model Benefits Patients Beyond Medicare

In recognition of National Senior Citizens Day (August 21), AHRQ highlights recent research showing that Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model improved outcomes not only for Medicare patients, but also for those with Medicare Advantage or no Medicare coverage. In an AHRQ-funded study published in PLOS ONE, researchers analyzed more than 312,000 hip and knee replacements at California hospitals between 2014 and 2017 to assess the spillover effects of CJR. After the model was implemented, the average hospital stay decreased for all patient groups, and more patients were discharged directly to their homes rather than to a rehab facility. For example, home discharges increased by 4.7 percent among Medicare Advantage patients and by 2.3 percent among non-Medicare patients. These results suggest that bundled payment models may drive broader improvements in care delivery—even among those not directly targeted by the program—and may inform future payment and policy reforms. Access the article.

Register for Upcoming Webinars

• AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CAUTI Informational Webinar:
  • August 28, 1:30–2 p.m. ET.
  • September 5, 11:30–12 p.m. ET.
  • September 12, 11:30–12 p.m. ET.
• September 8, 1–3 p.m. ET: AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center Grand Rounds—Nutrition.
• September 9, 1–2 p.m. ET: Patient Safety in Medical Offices: Using SOPS Tools To Drive Improvement.
• September 16, 3:30–4:30 p.m. ET: AHRQ Quality Indicators v2025 Software Webinar.

AHRQ Stats: Changes in High Blood Pressure Treatment

From 2018–19 to 2021–22, the percentage of adults with diagnosed or treated high blood pressure who both received medications and had medical visits declined from 60.2 percent to 56.5 percent. At the same time, those who received medications without visits increased from 15.9 percent to 18.0 percent. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #563, Recent Changes in Treatment Patterns for Diagnosed or Treated Hypertension, 2018–19 to 2021–22, 2025.)

New Research and Evidence

• Systematic Review: Peripheral Nerve Blocks for Postoperative Pain Management in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through August 29): Primary Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through September 2): Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through September 18): Prehospital EMS Blood Transfusion and Fluid Interventions for Hemorrhagic Shock.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature 

Feasibility and acceptability of an adapted evidence-based team training approach from health care to the early intervention context: a brief report. Albright J, Rushworth S, Kuriyan A, et al. J Early Interv 2025 Sep;47(3):361-73. Epub 2025 May 29. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Association between delayed broad-spectrum gram-negative antibiotics and clinical outcomes: how much does getting it right with empiric antibiotics matter? Baghdadi JD, Goodman KE, Magder LS, et al. Clin Infect Dis 2025 Jun 4;80(5):949-58. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Revisions to the Safety Assurance Factors for Electronic Health Record Resilience (SAFER) guides to update national recommendations for safe use of electronic health records. Sittig DF, Flanagan T, Sengstack P, et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2025 Apr;32(4):755-60. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Association of Medicare eligibility with access to and affordability of care among older cancer survivors. Kwon Y, Roberts ET, Degenholtz HB, et al. J Cancer Surviv 2025 Aug;19(4):1431-41. Epub 2024 Mar 23. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Annual medication use and costs among children. Begum A, Hosokawa P, Orth LE, et al. JAMA Netw Open 2025 Mar 3;8(3):e251529. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Banding together to lower the cost of health care? An empirical study of the Peak Health Alliance in Colorado. Meiselbach MK, Eisenberg MD. J Risk and Insurance 2025 Jun;92(2):472-504. Epub 2025 Feb 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Drivers of bronchodilator use in bronchiolitis: analyzing treatment trends from pediatric emergency department practices. Rivera-Sepulveda A, Maul T, Jurlina A, et al. Pediatr Emerg Care 2025 Jun;41(6):448-55. Epub 2025 Feb 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Emergency medical services-led outreach following opioid-associated overdose: frequency, modality, and treatment linkage. Ulintz A, Gage CB, Powell JR, et al. Prehosp Emerg Care 2025;29(4):550-5. Epub 2025 Feb 21. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Contact Information

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in.

If you have any questions or problems with the subscription service, email: updates@subscriptions.ahrq.gov.  

This service is provided to you at no charge by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).