National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
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1 to 3 of 3 Research Studies DisplayedKannan S, Song Z
Changes in out-of-pocket costs for US hospital admissions between December and January every year.
Out-of-pocket costs for ICU care may be large at the beginning of the year due to high insurance deductibles that reset every year for US patients, and the expensive nature of ICU care. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore cost-sharing changes from December to January for ICU admissions and non -ICU admissions among adults with employer-sponsored insurance. Among aggregate ICU hospitalizations, total cost-sharing averaged $1079 in December and $1871 in January, a 73.4% increase. Among non-ICU hospitalizations, total cost-sharing averaged $1043 in December and $1683 in January, a 61.3% increase. These increases and differences between ICU and non-ICU hospitalizations were greater among patients with high deductible health plans (HDHPs). For patients with HDHPs requiring an ICU stay, cost-sharing averaged $3093 per hospitalization in January vs $1301 in December.
AHRQ-funded; HS024072.
Citation: Kannan S, Song Z .
Changes in out-of-pocket costs for US hospital admissions between December and January every year.
JAMA Health Forum 2023 May 5; 4(5):e230784. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.0784..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Valley TS, Schutz A, Miller J
Hospital factors that influence ICU admission decision-making: a qualitative study of eight hospitals.
In order to understand factors influencing how intensive care unit (ICU) admission decisions are made, researchers conducted qualitative analysis of eight U.S. hospitals. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 87 participants were supplemented by site visits and clinical observations. Four hospital-level factors were identified which influenced ICU admission decisionmaking. The researchers concluded that healthcare systems should evaluate use of ICU care and establish institutional patterns to ensure that ICU admission decisions are patient-centered as well as account for resources and hospital-specific constraints.
AHRQ-funded; HS028038.
Citation: Valley TS, Schutz A, Miller J .
Hospital factors that influence ICU admission decision-making: a qualitative study of eight hospitals.
Intensive Care Med 2023 May; 49(5):505-16. doi: 10.1007/s00134-023-07031-w..
Keywords: Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Hospitals, Shared Decision Making, Hospitalization
Doherty JR, Schaefer A, Goodman DC
Texas hospital's perspectives about NICU performance measures: a mixed-methods study.
This exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted to determine Texas hospital leaders’ perspectives about neonatal intensive care (NICU) performance measures. First a survey was sent along with a copy of the Dartmouth Atlas of Neonatal Intensive Care to clinical and administrative leaders of 150 NICUs in Texas. The authors asked respondents to review the chapter that reported Texas-specific results and respond to a variety of open and closed-ended questions about the overall usefulness of the report. Secondly, they conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with a subset of survey respondents to better understand their perspectives. There was a 50% survey response rate. Respondents generally found the report to be interesting and useful, and 87.7% of all respondents reported being in favor of receiving future reports with their own hospital's data benchmarked against other anonymous NICU peers. All measures in the Atlas were considered favorably. The respondents also felt that a report with performance data would serve as a mechanism to drive change by identifying opportunities for improvement.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Doherty JR, Schaefer A, Goodman DC .
Texas hospital's perspectives about NICU performance measures: a mixed-methods study.
Qual Manag Health Care 2023 Jan-Mar;32(1):8-15. doi: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000347..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care, Provider Performance, Hospitals