National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Caregiving (1)
- Disparities (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (2)
- (-) Health Information Technology (HIT) (6)
- Health Literacy (1)
- (-) Hospitalization (6)
- (-) Inpatient Care (6)
- Patient and Family Engagement (2)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (1)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
- Web-Based (2)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 6 of 6 Research Studies DisplayedMacEwan SR, Gaughan A, Hefner JL
Identifying the role of inpatient portals to support health literacy: perspectives from patients and care team members.
Health literacy is a fundamental contributor to an individual's ability to self-manage their health and appropriately use health care services. Tools that positively impact health literacy therefore have potential to improve health outcomes. Inpatient portals are a tool that provides patients an opportunity to cultivate health literacy skills during hospitalization. This study investigated how inpatient portal use could impact attributes of health literacy.
AHRQ-funded; HS024091; HS024767; HS024379.
Citation: MacEwan SR, Gaughan A, Hefner JL .
Identifying the role of inpatient portals to support health literacy: perspectives from patients and care team members.
Patient Educ Couns 2021 Apr;104(4):836-43. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.09.028..
Keywords: Health Literacy, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitalization, Inpatient Care
Collins SA, Couture B, Smith AD
Mixed-methods evaluation of real-time safety reporting by hospitalized patients and their care partners: the MySafeCare application.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a real-time safety reporting tool by hospitalized patients and their care partners compared with other reporting mechanisms. The study used mixed methods including 20-month preimplementation and postimplementation trials evaluating MySafeCare, a web-based applications which allows real time reporting by hospitalized patients/care partners. Submission rates to MySafeCare in three hospital units (oncology acute care, vascular intermediate care, medical intensive care) were compared to submission rates to the Patient Family Relations (PFR) Department, a hospital service to address family/patient concerns. Thirty-two MySafeCare submissions were received during the study period with an average rate of 1.7 submissions per 1000 patient-days. MySafeCare submission rates were significantly higher than PFR submission rates during the postintervention period on the vascular unit. PFR submissions decreased after MySafeCare implementation for all units.
AHRQ-funded; HS023535.
Citation: Collins SA, Couture B, Smith AD .
Mixed-methods evaluation of real-time safety reporting by hospitalized patients and their care partners: the MySafeCare application.
J Patient Saf 2020 Jun;16(2):e75-e81. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000493..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Hospitalization, Inpatient Care, Health Information Technology (HIT), Caregiving
Walker DM, Hefner JL, Fareed N
Exploring the digital divide: age and race disparities in use of an inpatient portal.
Age and race disparities in the use of new technologies-the digital divide-may be limiting the potential of patient-facing health information technology to improve health and health care. The objective of this study was to investigate whether disparities exist in the use of patient portals designed specifically for the inpatient environment. The investigators identified lower use of the inpatient portal among African American and older patients, relative to White and younger patients, respectively.
AHRQ-funded; HS024379; HS024091; HS024349.
Citation: Walker DM, Hefner JL, Fareed N .
Exploring the digital divide: age and race disparities in use of an inpatient portal.
Telemed J E Health 2020 May;26(5):603-13. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2019.0065..
Keywords: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Health Information Technology (HIT), Inpatient Care, Hospitalization
Masterson Creber RM, Grossman LV, Ryan B
Engaging hospitalized patients with personalized health information: a randomized trial of an inpatient portal.
This study examined the effects of an inpatient portal intervention on patient activation, patient satisfaction, patient engagement with health information, and 30-day hospital admissions. A randomized trial was conducted from March 2014 to May 2017 with 426 English- or Spanish-speaking patients from 2 cardiac medical-surgical units at an urban academic medical center. Patients were randomized into 3 groups: 1) usual care, 2) tablet with general Internet access, and 3) tablet with an inpatient portal. There was a difference in patient activation between the 3 groups, but the inpatient portal group had lower 30-day hospital admissions. There was also a difference with patient engagement with health information between the inpatient portal and tablet-only groups.
AHRQ-funded; HS021816.
Citation: Masterson Creber RM, Grossman LV, Ryan B .
Engaging hospitalized patients with personalized health information: a randomized trial of an inpatient portal.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2019 Feb;26(2):115-23. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocy146..
Keywords: Patient and Family Engagement, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitalization, Patient Experience, Inpatient Care
Huerta TR, McAlearney AS, Rizer MK
Introducing a patient portal and electronic tablets to inpatient care.
The researchers implemented a pilot inpatient portal (MyChart Bedside [Epic Systems]) using Android tablets to provide patients and their families and caregivers with an expected care plan each day, a roster of the care team, the ability to exchange secure messages with the care team, a way to write and save notes, and access to health information. They conducted the 90-day pilot program in 15 rooms on 1 patient unit in each of 2 hospitals and gave tablets to 179 patients. They found that patients wanted immediate access to laboratory results, that patients admitted for 1-2 days found the tablets less important, that those readmitted insisted on having a tablet, and that those with their own electronic devices were less likely to accept the tablet.
AHRQ-funded; HS024091.
Citation: Huerta TR, McAlearney AS, Rizer MK .
Introducing a patient portal and electronic tablets to inpatient care.
Ann Intern Med 2017 Dec 5;167(11):816-17. doi: 10.7326/m17-1766.
.
.
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitalization, Inpatient Care, Web-Based, Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
Masterson Creber R, Prey J, Ryan B
Engaging hospitalized patients in clinical care: study protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol for a study to assess how patients' information needs during hospitalization can be addressed with health information technologies using a personalized inpatient portal. The study is designed to test whether the portal will improve patient engagement.
AHRQ-funded; HS021816.
Citation: Masterson Creber R, Prey J, Ryan B .
Engaging hospitalized patients in clinical care: study protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.
Contemp Clin Trials 2016 Mar;47:165-71. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2016.01.005.
.
.
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitalization, Inpatient Care, Patient and Family Engagement, Web-Based