National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
26 to 50 of 299 Research Studies DisplayedLoo S, Brochier A, Wexler MG
Addressing unmet basic needs for children with sickle cell disease in the United States: clinic and staff perspectives.
The purpose of this study was to assess pediatric hematology clinic staff's perspectives regarding barriers and facilitators in addressing unmet basic needs for children with sickle cell disease. Six focus groups were held at urban pediatric hematology clinics in the Northeastern region of the U.S. Four themes emerged: families of children with SCD have numerous unmet basic needs; clinic staff felt they had a role to play in addressing these needs; staff felt their ability to address these needs depended upon caregivers' capacity to act on staff recommendations; clinic staff's ability to address these needs was limited by organizational and systemic factors beyond their control. These findings have important implications for how best to address adverse social determinants of health for this vulnerable pediatric population so that urban-based pediatric hematology clinics can more equitably support families.
AHRQ-funded; HS022242.
Citation: Loo S, Brochier A, Wexler MG .
Addressing unmet basic needs for children with sickle cell disease in the United States: clinic and staff perspectives.
BMC Health Serv Res 2021 Jan 12;21(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-06055-y..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Sickle Cell Disease, Chronic Conditions, Social Determinants of Health, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider, Urban Health
Spivack SB, Murray GF, Rodriguez HP
Avoiding Medicaid: characteristics of primary care practices with no Medicaid revenue.
Primary care access for Medicaid patients is an ongoing area of concern. Most studies of providers' participation in Medicaid have focused on factors associated with the Medicaid program, such as reimbursement rates. Few studies have examined the characteristics of primary care practices associated with Medicaid participation. In this study, the investigators used a nationally representative survey of primary care practices to compare practices with no, low, and high Medicaid revenue.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Spivack SB, Murray GF, Rodriguez HP .
Avoiding Medicaid: characteristics of primary care practices with no Medicaid revenue.
Health Aff 2021 Jan;40(1):98-104. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00100..
Keywords: Medicaid, Health Insurance, Payment, Primary Care, Provider
Soylu TG, Cuellar AE, Goldberg DG
Engagement of small to medium-sized primary care practices in quality improvement efforts.
Engaging primary care practices in quality improvement (QI) efforts has been challenging. This study examined the association between practice readiness and practice characteristics and engagement during a targeted QI effort. The study analyzed cross-sectional data collected by the Heart of Virginia Health care, a cardiovascular disease QI intervention study with 195 practices. The investigators concluded that clinicians and leadership involvement in QI efforts was critical. They indicated that the findings suggested QI plans should involve clinicians and leaders early in the process to foster commitment, establish practice readiness, and sustain improvement efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS023913.
Citation: Soylu TG, Cuellar AE, Goldberg DG .
Engagement of small to medium-sized primary care practices in quality improvement efforts.
J Am Board Fam Med 2021 Jan-Feb;34(1):40-48. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2021.01.200153..
Keywords: Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider
Kimmey L, Furukawa MF, Jones DJ
AHRQ Author: Furukawa MF
Geographic variation in the consolidation of physicians into health systems, 2016-18.
The authors asked the following questions: To what extent does consolidation of physicians into vertically integrated health systems vary across markets, and how did that change from 2016 to 2018? In this article, they used AHRQ data on health systems and commercial data on physician-system affiliation to describe metropolitan statistical area-level physician consolidation and to identify differences by region and metropolitan statistical area size.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201600001C.
Citation: Kimmey L, Furukawa MF, Jones DJ .
Geographic variation in the consolidation of physicians into health systems, 2016-18.
Health Aff 2021 Jan;40(1):165-69. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00812..
Keywords: Health Systems, Provider: Physician, Provider, Healthcare Delivery
Wilson BL, Butler RJ
Identifying optimal labor and delivery nurse staffing: the case of cesarean births and nursing hours.
Numerous studies have identified a relationship between nurse staffing and adverse patient outcomes in medical / surgical patient populations. However, little is known about the impact of labor and delivery (L&D) nurse staffing and adverse birth outcomes, such as unintended cesarean delivery, in low-risk term-gestation women. In this study the investigators examined nurse staffing patterns on the likelihood of cesarean sections (C-sections) among low- risk, full gestation births and provided a testing framework to distinguish optimal from ineffective levels of nurse staffing.
AHRQ-funded; HS024607.
Citation: Wilson BL, Butler RJ .
Identifying optimal labor and delivery nurse staffing: the case of cesarean births and nursing hours.
Nurs Outlook 2021 Jan-Feb;69(1):84-95. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2020.07.003..
Keywords: Provider: Nurse, Provider, Workforce, Labor and Delivery, Pregnancy, Quality of Care, Risk, Women
Cohen C, Baird M, Koirola N
The surgical and anesthesia workforce and provision of surgical services in rural communities: a mixed-methods examination.
This mixed-methods study described the distribution of the surgical and anesthesia workforce and qualitatively explored how such workforce and other factors influenced rural hospitals' provision of surgical services. Using American Hospital Association survey data, the researchers found that within rural counties, 55.1% had no surgeon, 81.2% had no anesthesiologist, and 58.1% had no Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. While rural hospitals reported meeting community needs for elective and noncomplex surgeries, these hospitals continued to face significant challenges providing subspecialty surgeries, emergency surgeries, and 24-hour obstetrical services.
AHRQ-funded; HS023009.
Citation: Cohen C, Baird M, Koirola N .
The surgical and anesthesia workforce and provision of surgical services in rural communities: a mixed-methods examination.
J Rural Health 2021 Jan;37(1):45-54. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12417..
Keywords: Rural Health, Access to Care, Surgery, Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Hospitals
Campbell AM, Mattoni M, Yefimov MN
Improving cognitive workload in radiation therapists: a pilot EEG neurofeedback study.
The authors employed an accelerated alpha-theta neurofeedback (NF) protocol to test if 12 radiation therapy therapists (RTTs) could learn the protocol and exhibit behavior and brain performance-related benefits. Following the 3-week protocol, participants showed a decrease in subjective cognitive workload and a decrease in response time during a performance task, as well as a decrease in desynchrony of the alpha electroencephalogram band. The authors concluded that the RTTs successfully learned the protocol and improved in perceived cognitive workload following 3 weeks of neurofeedback.
AHRQ-funded; HS025597.
Citation: Campbell AM, Mattoni M, Yefimov MN .
Improving cognitive workload in radiation therapists: a pilot EEG neurofeedback study.
Front Psychol 2020 Dec 3;11:571739. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.571739..
Keywords: Provider, Burnout, Stress, Workforce
Byrnes ME, Varlamos CJ, Rivard SJ
"You're used to being the one that can fix things…": a qualitative snapshot of colorectal surgeons during COVID-19.
This viewpoint article reflects the narratives of 58 colorectal surgeons who engaged in an in-depth qualitative interview during the COVID-19 shutdown of elective surgeries. The goal for reporting these findings is to offer a snapshot of surgeon perspectives on the delays of elective surgeries and to give voice to surgeons who were unable to perform most or all their duties as a surgeon.
AHRQ-funded; HS025365; HS000053.
Citation: Byrnes ME, Varlamos CJ, Rivard SJ .
"You're used to being the one that can fix things…": a qualitative snapshot of colorectal surgeons during COVID-19.
Dis Colon Rectum 2020 Dec;63(12):1575-78. doi: 10.1097/dcr.0000000000001818..
Keywords: Surgery, Provider: Physician, Provider, COVID-19, Public Health, Infectious Diseases
O'Leary KJ, Manojlovich M, Johnson JK
A multisite study of interprofessional teamwork and collaboration on general medical services.
This multisite study of four mid-sized hospitals measured teamwork climate of nurses, nurse assistants, and physicians working on general medical services. Teamwork climate scores for 380 participants (80 hospitalists, 13 resident physicians, 193 nurses, and 94 nurses) were measured using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Hospitalists had the highest median teamwork climate score and nurses had the lowest, but it was not a statistically significant difference. A higher percentage of hospitalists (63.3%) rated the quality of collaboration with nurses as high or very high, but only 48.7% of nurses rated the collaboration with hospitalists as high or very high. There were significant differences in perceptions of teamwork climate across sites and across professional categories.
AHRQ-funded; HS025649.
Citation: O'Leary KJ, Manojlovich M, Johnson JK .
A multisite study of interprofessional teamwork and collaboration on general medical services.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2020 Dec;46(12):667-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2020.09.009..
Keywords: Teams, Hospitals, Patient Safety, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider: Nurse, Provider
Heinze K, Suwanabol PA, Vitous CA
A survey of patient perspectives on approach to health care: focus on physician competency and compassion.
This study is a cross-sectional survey of 764 patients to gain insight into perceptions of physician qualities of compassion and competence. The participants response rate was 85%, with mean age 52.4, 70.8% female, and 84% identified as white. Predictors of compassion over competence included female gender and whether the respondent had a personal connection to the vignette used. Preferences were found to be influenced by: 1) explicit beliefs regarding the value of physician compassion and competence; 2) impact of emotional and mental health on medical experiences; 3) type and frequency of health care exposure, and; 4) perceived role of the physician in various clinical vignettes.
AHRQ-funded; HS026772.
Citation: Heinze K, Suwanabol PA, Vitous CA .
A survey of patient perspectives on approach to health care: focus on physician competency and compassion.
J Patient Exp 2020 Dec;7(6):1044-53. doi: 10.1177/2374373520968447..
Keywords: Provider: Physician, Provider, Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality of Care
Everson J, Cheng AK, Patrick SW
Association of electronic prescribing of controlled substances with opioid prescribing rates.
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between use of electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) and trends in opioid prescribing. Results suggested that an increased use of EPCS was not associated with decreased opioid prescribing or a decrease in the amount prescribed and may have been associated with a small increase in opioid prescribing. Recommendations included levers to ensure that EPCS is integrated with outside data and that information is actively used to inform prescribing decisions.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Everson J, Cheng AK, Patrick SW .
Association of electronic prescribing of controlled substances with opioid prescribing rates.
JAMA Netw Open 2020 Dec;3(12):e2027951. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.27951..
Keywords: Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Health Information Technology (HIT), Opioids, Medication, Practice Patterns, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider
Dossett LA, Waljee JF, Dimick JB
Ensuring equal access to mentorship and sponsorship for surgeons through structured team-based mentoring.
This perspective paper describes how Michigan Medicine has developed early- and mid-career mentoring programs for surgeons in the hopes of reducing inequities in access to mentorship and foster a culture of mentorship for women and underrepresented minorities. The university hospital developed a mentoring program with Launch Teams for early career surgeons and Boost Teams for mid-career surgeons. The Launch Teams consist of 5-7 members meeting as a group 4 to 6 times yearly for 3 years. Members are selected jointly by the mentee and a member of the departmental leadership and include a clinical mentor, research mentors (if applicable), one or more external mentors and other members with specific research, administrative, educational, or leadership positions. Mid-career surgeons can elect to join a Boost Team after promotion or making a mid-career institutional transition. The team consists of a larger number of members outside the department or institution than Launch Teams. This team also meets every other month and the goal is to establish a leadership phenotype and long-term goals.
AHRQ-funded; HS026030.
Citation: Dossett LA, Waljee JF, Dimick JB .
Ensuring equal access to mentorship and sponsorship for surgeons through structured team-based mentoring.
Ann Surg 2020 Dec;272(6):939-40. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000004500..
Keywords: Provider: Physician, Provider, Surgery
Militello LG, Hurley RW, Cook RL
Primary care clinicians' beliefs and strategies for managing chronic pain in an era of a national opioid epidemic.
Investigators sought a better understanding of primary care clinicians’ approaches to managing patients with chronic pain and explored implications for technological and administrative interventions. They found that primary care clinicians’ beliefs about opioid therapy generally align with the clinical evidence but may have some important gaps, suggesting the potential value of interventions that include improved access to research findings, organizational changes to support spending time with patients to develop rapport, and the need for innovative clinical cognitive support.
AHRQ-funded; HS023306.
Citation: Militello LG, Hurley RW, Cook RL .
Primary care clinicians' beliefs and strategies for managing chronic pain in an era of a national opioid epidemic.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Dec;35(12):3542-48. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06178-2..
Keywords: Primary Care, Opioids, Medication, Pain, Chronic Conditions, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider, Care Management
Benson NM, Myong C, Newhouse JP
Psychiatrist participation in private health insurance markets: paucity in the land of plenty.
Using 2013 Massachusetts licensing data and the All-Payer Claims Database, researchers performed a cross-sectional analysis of licensed psychiatrists in Massachusetts to examine the extent of participation in private insurance. They found that, among Massachusetts psychiatrists, participation in the private insurance market appeared to be limited. Older psychiatrists were more likely to participate, and patients' access to psychiatrists who accept insurance could worsen as these psychiatrists retire.
AHRQ-funded; HS024725.
Citation: Benson NM, Myong C, Newhouse JP .
Psychiatrist participation in private health insurance markets: paucity in the land of plenty.
Psychiatr Serv 2020 Dec;71(12):1232-38. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000022..
Keywords: Health Insurance, Behavioral Health, Access to Care, Provider: Physician, Provider
Ehlers AP, Vitous CA, Sales A
Exploration of factors associated with surgeon deviation from practice guidelines for management of inguinal hernias.
Investigators explored factors associated with surgeon choice of approach (minimally invasive vs open) in inguinal hernia repair as a tool to gain an understanding of guideline-discordant care. They found that decision-making for the approach to inguinal hernia repair was largely influenced by surgeon preference and access to resources rather than patient factors. Although a one-size-fits-all approach is not recommended, the operative approach should ideally be informed by patient factors, including hernia characteristics. They recommended addressing surgeon preference and available resources with a clinician-facing decision aid to provide an opportunity to optimize care for patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair.
AHRQ-funded; HS025778.
Citation: Ehlers AP, Vitous CA, Sales A .
Exploration of factors associated with surgeon deviation from practice guidelines for management of inguinal hernias.
JAMA Netw Open 2020 Nov 2;3(11):e2023684. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.23684..
Keywords: Surgery, Guidelines, Provider: Physician, Provider, Shared Decision Making, Evidence-Based Practice
Lim H, Raffel KE, Harrison JD
Decisions in the dark: an educational intervention to promote reflection and feedback on night float rotations.
An educational intervention was created for medical residents during night float rotations where they admit patients to the hospital. The intervention was designed to provide feedback on their diagnostic and management reasoning using feedback solicitation and chart review. Second- and third-year internal medicine residents on a 1-month night float rotation were recruited. Residents performed chart review of a subset of patients they admitted and completed reflection worksheets detailing patients’ clinical courses. Sixty-eight of 82 eligible residents participated in the intervention. The authors evaluated 248 reflection worksheets using content analysis. Major themes that emerged from chart review included residents’ identification of reasoning gaps and evaluation of resident-provider interactions.
AHRQ-funded; HS026383.
Citation: Lim H, Raffel KE, Harrison JD .
Decisions in the dark: an educational intervention to promote reflection and feedback on night float rotations.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Nov;35(11):3363-67. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-05913-z..
Keywords: Provider: Physician, Provider, Education: Continuing Medical Education, Shared Decision Making
Smith JG, Rogowski JA, Lake ET
Missed care relates to nurse job enjoyment and intention to leave in neonatal intensive care.
Being unable to provide required nursing care to infants could contribute to poorer neonatal nurse job outcomes, which may exacerbate staffing challenges. Little evidence exists about how missed nursing care relates to neonatal nurse job outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine relationships among missed nursing care, job enjoyment and intention to leave for neonatal nurses.
AHRQ-funded; HS024918.
Citation: Smith JG, Rogowski JA, Lake ET .
Missed care relates to nurse job enjoyment and intention to leave in neonatal intensive care.
J Nurs Manag 2020 Nov;28(8):1940-47. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12943..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Provider: Nurse, Provider, Burnout, Nursing
Kapoor N, Lacson R, Hammer M
Physician agreement with recommendations contained in a national guideline for the management of incidental pulmonary nodules: a case study.
This survey of physicians was used to determine agreement with recommendations in the national guideline for the management of incidental pulmonary nodules from the 2017 Fleischner Society Guidelines for Management of Incident Pulmonary Nodules (FSG). The FSG contains 18 unique recommendations which were codified into a clinical evidence logic statement (CELS) for this study. The FSG also included ratings for strength of evidence based on the American Society of Chest Physicians grading system. In order to internally grade the strength of evidence behind each recommendation, two medical librarians from the Harvard Library of Evidence analyzed each CELS independently and graded the recommendations based on the supporting clinical studies using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based levels of evidence and the US Preventive Service Task Force I-scores. Nine physicians from a single large academic institution were then surveyed via SurveyMonkey to assess agreement with each of the 18 CELS. Agreement on each recommendation ranged from 0 to 100%. This study was meant to be exploratory and to test the hypothesis that guideline nonadherence may be partly affected by lack of physician agreement with guideline component recommendations.
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Kapoor N, Lacson R, Hammer M .
Physician agreement with recommendations contained in a national guideline for the management of incidental pulmonary nodules: a case study.
J Am Coll Radiol 2020 Nov;17(11):1437-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2020.07.020..
Keywords: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), Guidelines, Evidence-Based Practice, Respiratory Conditions, Practice Patterns, Provider: Physician, Provider
Yansane A, Lee JH, Hebballi N
Assessing the patient safety culture in dentistry.
Medical errors are among the leading causes of death within the United States. Studies have shown that patients can be harmed while receiving care, sometimes resulting in permanent injury or, in extreme cases, death. To reduce the risk of patient safety incidents, it is imperative that a robust culture of safety be established. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the patient safety culture among providers at 4 US dental institutions, comparing the results with their medical counterparts in 2016.
AHRQ-funded; HS024406.
Citation: Yansane A, Lee JH, Hebballi N .
Assessing the patient safety culture in dentistry.
JDR Clin Trans Res 2020 Oct;5(4):399-408. doi: 10.1177/2380084419897614..
Keywords: Surveys on Patient Safety Culture, Patient Safety, Dental and Oral Health, Provider, Medical Errors, Adverse Events
Alley L, Novak K, Havlin T
Development and pilot of a prescription drug monitoring program and communication intervention for pharmacists
The authors developed the Resources Encouraging Safe Prescription Opioid and Naloxone Dispensing (RESPOND) Toolkit to enhance community pharmacists' understanding of their role in addressing opioid safety; to improve integration of prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) into daily workflow; and to enhance communication between pharmacists, prescribers, and patients. In this paper, they described the development of the RESPOND Toolkit and summarized their findings from initial pilot testing. They concluded that the RESPOND Toolkit has promise as an effective and scalable approach to providing community pharmacist-tailored training to promote behavioral shifts supporting opioid safety for patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS024227.
Citation: Alley L, Novak K, Havlin T .
Development and pilot of a prescription drug monitoring program and communication intervention for pharmacists
Res Social Adm Pharm 2020 Oct;16(10):1422-30. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2019.12.023..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Tools & Toolkits, Communication, Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Training
Shubeck SP, Newman EA, Vitous CA
Hiring practices of US academic surgery departments-challenges and opportunities for more inclusive hiring.
To increase workforce diversity among academic medical centers, the Association of American Medical Colleges recommends multiple inclusive strategies for evaluating and hiring candidates. The objective of this study was to determine (1) usual and inclusive hiring practices used among academic surgery departments and (2) the barriers to utilization of inclusive hiring practices. The investigators concluded that many chairs rely heavily on internal hires or trusted networks, which may limit both demographic and cognitive diversity.
AHRQ-funded; HS026030.
Citation: Shubeck SP, Newman EA, Vitous CA .
Hiring practices of US academic surgery departments-challenges and opportunities for more inclusive hiring.
J Surg Res 2020 Oct;254:23-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2020.03.054..
Keywords: Surgery, Provider: Physician, Provider, Workforce, Hospitals
Ellis RJ, Yuce TK, Hewitt DB
National evaluation of patient preferences in selecting hospitals and health care providers.
This study examined patient views of public databases for hospital quality. Interviews and focus groups were conducted at local outpatient clinics as well as a national administered survey on an anonymous digital platform. A 42% response rate was received (4672 responses). Measures patients considered most important were hospital reputation, physician experience, and primary care recommendations. Unimportant factors included guideline adherence, hospital academic affiliation, and morbidity and mortality outcome measures. This was true irrespective of age, sex, education status, or income of the respondent.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011; HS026385; HS021857; HS000078.
Citation: Ellis RJ, Yuce TK, Hewitt DB .
National evaluation of patient preferences in selecting hospitals and health care providers.
Med Care 2020 Oct;58(10):867-73. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001374..
Keywords: Hospitals, Quality of Care, Provider
Varban OA, Thumma JR, Carlin AM
Peer assessment of operative videos with sleeve gastrectomy to determine optimal operative technique.
Global assessments of technical skill have been associated with surgical outcomes. More detailed understanding of which specific aspects of technique combine to make the "optimal" sleeve gastrectomy are necessary to help surgeons improve their practice. In this article, the investigators described their study in which the review of de-identified videos of practicing bariatric surgeons was conducted by a minimum of 10 peer surgeons. The videos were assessed on the technical quality of 9 operative maneuvers (ie mobilization of the fundus, stapler location, and sleeve width).
AHRQ-funded; HS017765.
Citation: Varban OA, Thumma JR, Carlin AM .
Peer assessment of operative videos with sleeve gastrectomy to determine optimal operative technique.
J Am Coll Surg 2020 Oct;231(4):470-77. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2020.06.016..
Keywords: Surgery, Obesity: Weight Management, Obesity, Adverse Events, Provider: Physician, Provider
Donovan E, Bratberg J, Baird J
Pharmacy leaders' beliefs about how pharmacies can support a sustainable approach to providing naloxone to the community.
The objective of this qualitative study was to understand how leaders in pharmacy organizations perceive pharmacies and pharmacy staff can optimize dispensing of naloxone. Five main themes emerged: importance of staff training to increase comfort; strength through coordination of efforts; pharmacies acting as community leaders in the opioid crisis; persisting stigma; ongoing workflow challenges. These results uniquely reflect the experiences and insights of pharmacy leaders implementing public health initiatives during the opioid crisis and can be used for gaining insight into how pharmacists can efficiently provide naloxone to their communities.
AHRQ-funded; HS024021.
Citation: Donovan E, Bratberg J, Baird J .
Pharmacy leaders' beliefs about how pharmacies can support a sustainable approach to providing naloxone to the community.
Res Social Adm Pharm 2020 Oct;16(10):1493-97. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.01.006..
Keywords: Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Community-Based Practice, Opioids, Medication, Substance Abuse
Fraze TK, Briggs ADM, Whitcomb EK
Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs.
The objective of this study was to estimate trends in the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners from 2012 to 2017, to characterize beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners in 2017, and to examine how the percentage of beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners varies by practice characteristics. Findings showed that nurse practitioners are caring for Medicare beneficiaries with complex needs at rates that match or exceed their physician colleagues. The growing role of nurse practitioners, especially in health care systems, warrants attention as organizations embark on payment and delivery reform.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Fraze TK, Briggs ADM, Whitcomb EK .
Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs.
Med Care 2020 Oct;58(10):853-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001364..
Keywords: Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Chronic Conditions, Primary Care, Medicare