National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- (-) Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (37)
- Adverse Events (34)
- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (1)
- Antibiotics (5)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (1)
- Behavioral Health (1)
- Blood Clots (1)
- Blood Pressure (1)
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- Communication (2)
- Comparative Effectiveness (1)
- COVID-19 (1)
- Critical Care (1)
- Dental and Oral Health (2)
- Diabetes (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (2)
- Elderly (3)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (4)
- Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) (2)
- Emergency Department (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Eye Disease and Health (1)
- Guidelines (1)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (9)
- Health Literacy (1)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Hospital Discharge (2)
- Implementation (1)
- Kidney Disease and Health (1)
- Medicaid (1)
- Medical Errors (12)
- Medication (33)
- Medication: Safety (22)
- Neurological Disorders (1)
- Opioids (2)
- Outcomes (1)
- Patient Safety (21)
- Practice Patterns (2)
- Pregnancy (1)
- Prevention (1)
- Provider (3)
- Provider: Pharmacist (4)
- Respiratory Conditions (1)
- Risk (7)
- Shared Decision Making (1)
- Skin Conditions (1)
- Surgery (1)
- Telehealth (2)
- Transitions of Care (1)
- Transplantation (1)
- Vaccination (1)
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
1 to 25 of 37 Research Studies DisplayedLoi MV, Lee JH, Huh JW
Ketamine use in the intubation of critically ill children with neurological indications: a multicenter retrospective analysis.
This study examined use of ketamine in children undergoing tubal intubation (TI) for a primary neurological indication. The authors conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of critically ill children undergoing TI for neurological indications in 53 international pediatric intensive care units and emergency departments. They screened all intubations from 2014 to 2020 entered into the multicenter National Emergency Airway Registry for Children (NEAR4KIDS) registry database. Of 21,562 TIs, 2,073 were performed for a primary neurological indication, including 190 for traumatic brain injury/trauma. Patients received ketamine in 495 TIs (23.9%), which increased from 10% in 2014 to 41% in 2020. Criteria for ketamine use includes a coindication of respiratory failure, difficult airway history, and use of vagolytic agents, apneic oxygenation, and video laryngoscopy. Composite adverse outcomes were reported in 289 (13.9%) TIs and were more common in the ketamine group (17.0% vs. 13.0%). After adjusting for location, patient age and co-diagnoses, the presence of respiratory failure and shock, difficult airway history, provider demographics, intubating device, and the use of apneic oxygenation, vagolytic agents, and neuromuscular blockade, ketamine use was not significantly associated with increased composite adverse outcomes. This paucity of association remained even when only neurotrauma intubations were considered (10.6% vs. 7.7%).
AHRQ-funded; HS022464, HS024511.
Citation: Loi MV, Lee JH, Huh JW .
Ketamine use in the intubation of critically ill children with neurological indications: a multicenter retrospective analysis.
Neurocrit Care 2024 Feb; 40(1):205-14. doi: 10.1007/s12028-023-01734-0.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Critical Care, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Ramanathan S, Evans CT, Hershow RC
Guideline concordance and antibiotic-associated adverse events between Veterans administration and non-Veterans administration dental settings: a retrospective cohort study.
The study aimed to evaluate antibiotic prophylaxis adherence and associated adverse drug events (ADEs) in dental settings. A retrospective cohort study of adults with cardiac conditions or prosthetic joints from 2015 to 2017 was conducted. Of 61,124 patients receiving antibiotic prophylaxis, 62 (0.1%) experienced ADEs. Guideline concordance was not linked to ADEs (adjusted OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.25-2.46), and this was consistent across different dental settings.
AHRQ-funded; HS025177.
Citation: Ramanathan S, Evans CT, Hershow RC .
Guideline concordance and antibiotic-associated adverse events between Veterans administration and non-Veterans administration dental settings: a retrospective cohort study.
Front Pharmacol 2024 Jan 16; 15:1249531. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1249531.
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Guidelines, Dental and Oral Health, Practice Patterns
Carroll AR, Johnson JA, Stassun JC
Health literacy-informed communication to reduce discharge medication errors in hospitalized children: a randomized clinical trial.
This study’s objective was to test a health literacy-informed communication intervention to decrease liquid medication dosing errors compared with standard counseling in hospitalized children. This parallel, randomized clinical trial was conducted from June 22, 2021, to August 20, 2022, at a tertiary care, US children's hospital. English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers of hospitalized children 6 years or younger prescribed a new, scheduled liquid medication at discharge were included in the analysis. Observed dosing errors were the main outcome measured, and secondary outcomes included caregiver-reported medication knowledge. Among 198 randomized caregivers (mean age 31.4 years; 186 women [93.9%]; 36 [18.2%] Hispanic or Latino and 158 [79.8%] White), the primary outcome was available for 151 (76.3%). The observed mean (SD) percentage dosing error was 1.0% (2.2 percentage points) among the intervention group and 3.3% (5.1 percentage points) among the standard counseling group (absolute difference, 2.3 percentage points). Twenty-four of 79 caregivers in the intervention group (30.4%) measured an incorrect dose compared with 39 of 72 (54.2%) in the standard counseling group. The intervention enhanced caregiver-reported medication knowledge compared with the standard counseling group for medication dose (71 of 76 [93.4%] vs 55 of 69 [79.7%]), duration of administration (65 of 76 [85.5%] vs 49 of 69 [71.0%], and correct reporting of 2 or more medication adverse effects (60 of 76 [78.9%] vs 13 of 69 [18.8%]).
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Carroll AR, Johnson JA, Stassun JC .
Health literacy-informed communication to reduce discharge medication errors in hospitalized children: a randomized clinical trial.
JAMA Netw Open 2024 Jan 2; 7(1):e2350969. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50969..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Health Literacy, Communication, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Clinician-Patient Communication, Hospital Discharge, Medication: Safety
Cohen TN, Berdahl CT, Coleman BL
Medication safety event reporting: Factors that contribute to safety events during times of organizational stress.
This study’s objective was to understand the insights conveyed in hospital incident reports about how work system factors affected medication safety during a coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) surge. The authors randomly selected 100 medication safety incident reports from an academic medical center (December 2020 to January 2021), identified near misses and errors, and classified contributing work system factors using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System-Healthcare. Results showed that among 35 near misses/errors, incident reports described contributing factors (mean 1.3/report) involving skill-based errors (n = 20), communication (n = 8), and tools/technology (n = 4). Seven of these events were linked to COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS027455.
Citation: Cohen TN, Berdahl CT, Coleman BL .
Medication safety event reporting: Factors that contribute to safety events during times of organizational stress.
J Nurs Care Qual 2024 Jan-Mar; 39(1):51-57. doi: 10.1097/ncq.0000000000000720..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, COVID-19, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors
Kyler KE, Hall M, Antoon JW
Major drug-drug interaction exposure among Medicaid-insured children in the outpatient setting.
This study’s objective was to determine the prevalence of major drug-drug interactions (DDI) exposure and factors associated with higher DDI exposure rates among children in an outpatient setting. The authors performed a cross-sectional study of children aged 0 to 18 years with ≥1 ambulatory encounter, and ≥2 dispensed outpatient prescriptions using the 2019 Marketscan Medicaid database. Primary outcomes were the prevalence and rate of major DDI exposure. Out of 781,019 children with ≥2 medication exposures, 21.4% experienced ≥1 major DDI exposure. The odds of exposure increased with age and with medical and mental health complexity. Frequently mentioned drugs included Clonidine, psychiatric medications, and asthma medications. The highest adverse physiologic effect exposure rate per 100 children included: increased drug concentrations (14.6), central nervous system depression (13.6), and heart rate-corrected QT interval prolongation (9.9).
AHRQ-funded; HS028979.
Citation: Kyler KE, Hall M, Antoon JW .
Major drug-drug interaction exposure among Medicaid-insured children in the outpatient setting.
Pediatrics 2024 Jan; 153(2):e2023063506. doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-063506.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medicaid, Medication: Safety
Nanji KC, Shaikh SD, Jaffari A
A Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the additional cost associated with adverse medication events leading to intraoperative hypotension and/or hypertension in the United States.
This study’s objective was to estimate the rates of clinically significant intraoperative hypotension and hypertension. Systematic literature reviews were conducted to estimate incidence and additional costs of acute kidney injury (AKI), acute myocardial injury, and stroke after intraoperative hypotension and hypertension. The authors used Monte Carlo simulation to estimate annual costs to the U.S. healthcare system. Intraoperative hypotension occurred in 11 of 277 operations (3.97%), a >30% drop in baseline mean arterial pressure hypotension in patients with coronary artery disease in 9 operations (3.25%), and hypertension in 14 operations (5.05%). After hypertension, incremental stroke incidence was 4.76%. The authors estimated 11,513 cases of AKI, 5914 cases of acute myocardial injury, 345 cases of stroke after intraoperative hypotension, and 47,774 cases of stroke after intraoperative hypertension. Estimated costs were $1.7 billion, of which $923 million are preventable.
AHRQ-funded; HS024764.
Citation: Nanji KC, Shaikh SD, Jaffari A .
A Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the additional cost associated with adverse medication events leading to intraoperative hypotension and/or hypertension in the United States.
J Patient Saf 2021 Dec 1;17(8):e758-e64. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000926..
Keywords: Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Healthcare Costs
Adams KT, Pruitt Z, Kazi S
Identifying health information technology usability issues contributing to medication errors across medication process stages.
Researchers sought to identify the types of medication errors associated with health IT use, whether they reached the patient, where in the medication process those errors occurred, and the specific usability issues contributing to those errors. They found that health IT usability issues were a prevalent contributing factor to medication errors, many of which reach the patient. They recommended that data entry, workflow support, and alerting be prioritized during usability and safety optimization efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS025136.
Citation: Adams KT, Pruitt Z, Kazi S .
Identifying health information technology usability issues contributing to medication errors across medication process stages.
J Patient Saf 2021 Dec 1;17(8):e988-e94. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000868..
Keywords: Medication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
McGrath SP, McGovern KM, Perreard IM
Inpatient respiratory arrest associated with sedative and analgesic medications: impact of continuous monitoring on patient mortality and severe morbidity.
Inpatient respiratory arrest associated with sedative and analgesic medications: impact of continuous monitoring on patient mortality and severe morbidity.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of surveillance monitoring on mortality and severe morbidity associated with administration of sedative/analgesic medications in the general care setting. A review of available rescue event and patient safety data from a tertiary care hospital in a rural setting was conducted. Findings showed that, for a 10-year period, the rescue system with continuous surveillance monitoring had a profound effect on prevention of death due to sedative/analgesic administration in the general care setting.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of surveillance monitoring on mortality and severe morbidity associated with administration of sedative/analgesic medications in the general care setting. A review of available rescue event and patient safety data from a tertiary care hospital in a rural setting was conducted. Findings showed that, for a 10-year period, the rescue system with continuous surveillance monitoring had a profound effect on prevention of death due to sedative/analgesic administration in the general care setting.
AHRQ-funded; HS024403.
Citation: McGrath SP, McGovern KM, Perreard IM .
Inpatient respiratory arrest associated with sedative and analgesic medications: impact of continuous monitoring on patient mortality and severe morbidity.
J Patient Saf 2021 Dec 1;17(8):557-61. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000696..
Keywords: Respiratory Conditions, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Reese TJ, Del Fiol G, Morgan K
A shared decision-making tool for drug interactions between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: design and usability study.
Exposure to life-threatening drug-drug interactions (DDIs) occurs despite the widespread use of clinical decision support. The DDI between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is common and potentially life-threatening. Patients can play a substantial role in preventing harm from DDIs; however, the current model for DDI decision-making is clinician centric. This study aimed to design and examine the usability of DDInteract, a tool to support shared decision-making (SDM) between a patient and provider for the DDI between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
AHRQ-funded; HS026198.
Citation: Reese TJ, Del Fiol G, Morgan K .
A shared decision-making tool for drug interactions between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: design and usability study.
JMIR Hum Factors 2021 Oct 26;8(4):e28618. doi: 10.2196/28618..
Keywords: Blood Thinners, Medication: Safety, Medication, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Herzig SJ, Anderson TS, Jung Y
Relative risks of adverse events among older adults receiving opioids versus NSAIDs after hospital discharge: a nationwide cohort study.
This retrospective cohort study’s objective was to determine the incidence and risk of post-discharge adverse events among opioid claims in the week after hospital discharge, compared to those with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) claims alone. A national sample of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older who were hospitalized in the United States in 2016 was used. Beneficiaries who were admitted from or discharged to a facility were excluded. The authors used 3:1 propensity matching to match beneficiaries with an opioid claim in the week after discharge (13,385) with beneficiaries with NSAID claim alone (4,677). Beneficiaries receiving opioids had a higher incidence of death, healthcare utilization, and any potential adverse effect compared to those with an NSAID claim only. Specific adverse effects included higher relative risk of fall/fracture, nausea/vomiting, and slowed colonic motility.
AHRQ-funded; HS026215.
Citation: Herzig SJ, Anderson TS, Jung Y .
Relative risks of adverse events among older adults receiving opioids versus NSAIDs after hospital discharge: a nationwide cohort study.
PLoS Med 2021 Sep 27;18(9):e1003804. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003804..
Keywords: Elderly, Opioids, Medication, Medication: Safety, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Risk, Hospital Discharge
Trivedi LU, Femnou Mbuntum L, Halm EA
Is statin use associated with risk of thyroid diseases? Results of a retrospective cohort study.
Given the ubiquity of statin use and prevalence of thyroid diseases, such as thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, and thyroiditis, understanding their association deserves further attention. The objective of the study was to examine the association between statin use and thyroid cancer, thyrotoxicosis, goiter, and thyroiditis. The investigators concluded that this study did not demonstrate any association of statins with harmful effects on thyroid diseases, which offers assurance to clinicians and patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Trivedi LU, Femnou Mbuntum L, Halm EA .
Is statin use associated with risk of thyroid diseases? Results of a retrospective cohort study.
Ann Pharmacother 2021 Sep;55(9):1110-19. doi: 10.1177/1060028020986552..
Keywords: Medication, Risk, Adverse Drug Events (ADE)
Ing C, Landau R, DeStephano D
Prenatal exposure to general anesthesia and childhood behavioral deficit.
This study looked at the association of prenatal exposure to general anesthesia and childhood behavioral deficits. The Raine Study was an observational cohort study of children born in Perth, Western Australia with 2 generations of participations. The first generation (Gen1) were mothers enrolled during pregnancy, and the second generation (Gen2) were the children born from 1989 to 1992 with neuropsychological and behavioral tests evaluated at age 10. Six neuropsychological and behavioral tests were used with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) as the main test. Among 2024 children with available outcome scores, 22 were prenatally exposed to general anesthesia. These children had higher CBCL Externalizing behavioral scores than unexposed children. Of the six tests used, only CBCL Externalizing behavioral scores remained significant after multiple comparisons adjustment.
AHRQ-funded; HS026493.
Citation: Ing C, Landau R, DeStephano D .
Prenatal exposure to general anesthesia and childhood behavioral deficit.
Anesth Analg 2021 Sep 1;133(3):595-605. doi: 10.1213/ane.0000000000005389..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Pregnancy, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events
De Oliveira GS, Castro-Alves LJ, Kendall MC
Effectiveness of pharmacist intervention to reduce medication errors and health-care resources utilization after transitions of care: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
The main objective of the current investigation was to examine the effectiveness of pharmacist-based transition-of-care interventions on the reduction of medication errors after hospital discharge. Findings showed that pharmacist transition-of-care intervention is an effective strategy to reduce medication errors after hospital discharge and also reduces subsequent emergency room visits.
AHRQ-funded; HS024158.
Citation: De Oliveira GS, Castro-Alves LJ, Kendall MC .
Effectiveness of pharmacist intervention to reduce medication errors and health-care resources utilization after transitions of care: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
J Patient Saf 2021 Aug 1;17(5):375-80. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000283..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Provider: Pharmacist, Transitions of Care
Caballero ML, Krantz MS, Quirce S
Hidden dangers: recognizing excipients as potential causes of drug and vaccine hypersensitivity reactions.
In this paper, the authors provided a review of the evidence-based literature outlining epidemiology and mechanisms of excipient reactions and provided strategies for heightened recognition and allergy testing.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Caballero ML, Krantz MS, Quirce S .
Hidden dangers: recognizing excipients as potential causes of drug and vaccine hypersensitivity reactions.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2021 Aug;9(8):2968-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.03.002..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication, Medication: Safety, Vaccination, Patient Safety
Watterson TL, Stone JA, Brown R
CancelRx: a health IT tool to reduce medication discrepancies in the outpatient setting.
Medication list discrepancies between outpatient clinics and pharmacies can lead to medication errors. Within the last decade, a new health information technology (IT), CancelRx, emerged to send a medication cancellation message from the clinic's electronic health record (EHR) to the outpatient pharmacy's software. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of CancelRx on reducing medication discrepancies between the EHR and pharmacy dispensing software.
AHRQ-funded; HS025793.
Citation: Watterson TL, Stone JA, Brown R .
CancelRx: a health IT tool to reduce medication discrepancies in the outpatient setting.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Jul 14;28(7):1526-33. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab038..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Ambulatory Care and Surgery
Wu P, Nelson SD, Zhao J
DDIWAS: high-throughput electronic health record-based screening of drug-drug interactions.
In this study, the investigators developed and evaluated Drug-Drug Interaction Wide Association Study (DDIWAS). This novel method detected potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) by leveraging data from the electronic health record (EHR) allergy list. The investigators concluded that they demonstrated the value of incorporating information mined from existing allergy lists to detect DDIs in a real-world clinical setting. They indicate that since allergy lists are routinely collected in EHRs, DDIWAS has the potential to detect and validate DDI signals across institutions.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Wu P, Nelson SD, Zhao J .
DDIWAS: high-throughput electronic health record-based screening of drug-drug interactions.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Jul 14;28(7):1421-30. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab019..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety
King CR, Abraham J, Fritz BA
Predicting self-intercepted medication ordering errors using machine learning.
Current approaches to understanding medication ordering errors rely on relatively small manually captured error samples. These approaches are resource-intensive, do not scale for computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems, and are likely to miss important risk factors associated with medication ordering errors. Previously, the investigators described a dataset of CPOE-based medication voiding accompanied by univariable and multivariable regression analyses. In this paper, they updated the analysis using machine learning (ML) models to predict erroneous medication orders and identify its contributing factors.
AHRQ-funded; HS025443.
Citation: King CR, Abraham J, Fritz BA .
Predicting self-intercepted medication ordering errors using machine learning.
PLoS One 2021 Jul 14;16(7):e0254358. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254358..
Keywords: Medication, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Worsham CM, Woo J, Jena AB
Adverse events and emergency department opioid prescriptions in adolescents.
Understanding the risks associated with opioid prescription in adolescents is critical for informing opioid policy, but the risks are challenging to quantify given the lack of randomized trial data. Using a regression discontinuity design, the investigators exploited a discontinuous increase in opioid prescribing in the emergency department (ED) when adolescents transitioned from "child" to "adult" at age eighteen to estimate the effect of an ED opioid prescription on subsequent opioid-related adverse events.
AHRQ-funded; HS026753.
Citation: Worsham CM, Woo J, Jena AB .
Adverse events and emergency department opioid prescriptions in adolescents.
Health Aff 2021 Jun;40(6):970-78. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01762..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Emergency Department, Opioids, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Practice Patterns
Stolldorf DP, Ridner SH, Vogus TJ
Implementation strategies in the context of medication reconciliation: a qualitative study.
Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is an important patient safety initiative that aims to prevent patient harm from medication errors. Yet, the implementation and sustainability of MedRec interventions have been challenging due to contextual barriers like the lack of interprofessional communication (among pharmacists, nurses, and providers) and limited organizational capacity. Guided by the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) taxonomy, the authors report the differing strategies hospital implementation teams used to implement an evidence-based MedRec Toolkit (the MARQUIS Toolkit).
AHRQ-funded; HS025486.
Citation: Stolldorf DP, Ridner SH, Vogus TJ .
Implementation strategies in the context of medication reconciliation: a qualitative study.
Implement Sci Commun 2021 Jun 10;2(1):63. doi: 10.1186/s43058-021-00162-5..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Implementation, Communication
Barwise A, Leppin A, Dong Y
What contributes to diagnostic error or delay? A qualitative exploration across diverse acute care settings in the United States.
This study was part of a mixed-methods approach to understand the organizational, clinician, and patient factors contributing to diagnostic error and delay among acutely ill patients within a health system. Findings showed that clinicians perceived that diverse organizational, communication and coordination, individual clinician, and patient factors interact to impede the process of making timely and accurate diagnoses. This study highlights the complex sociotechnical system within which individual clinicians operate and the contributions of systems, processes, and institutional factors to diagnostic error and delay.
AHRQ-funded; HS026609.
Citation: Barwise A, Leppin A, Dong Y .
What contributes to diagnostic error or delay? A qualitative exploration across diverse acute care settings in the United States.
J Patient Saf 2021 Jun 1;17(4):239-48. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000817..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE)
Harben AL, Kashy DA, Esfahanian S
Using change detection to objectively evaluate whether novel over-the-counter drug labels can increase attention to critical health information among older adults.
Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs have many benefits but also carry risks, such as adverse drug reactions, which are more prevalent in older adults. Because these products do not require the oversight of a physician or pharmacist, labeling plays a key role in communicating information required for their safe and effective use. In two experiments, the investigators used a change detection task to objectively evaluate how novel label designs that employ highlighting and a warning label placed on the package's front impact attention to critical information among older participants (65 and older).
AHRQ-funded; HS025386.
Citation: Harben AL, Kashy DA, Esfahanian S .
Using change detection to objectively evaluate whether novel over-the-counter drug labels can increase attention to critical health information among older adults.
Cogn Res Princ Implic 2021 May 26;6(1):40. doi: 10.1186/s41235-021-00307-z..
Keywords: Elderly, Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Gonzales HM, Fleming JN, Gebregziabher M
Pharmacist-led mobile health intervention and transplant medication safety: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of improving medication safety through a pharmacist-led, mobile health-based intervention. In this single-center study of adult kidney recipients 6-36 months post-transplant, findings showed that participants receiving the intervention experienced a significant reduction in medication errors and a significantly lower incidence risk of Grade 3 or higher adverse events. The intervention arm also demonstrated significantly lower rates of hospitalizations.
AHRQ-funded; HS023754.
Citation: Gonzales HM, Fleming JN, Gebregziabher M .
Pharmacist-led mobile health intervention and transplant medication safety: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2021 May 8;16(5):776-84. doi: 10.2215/cjn.15911020..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Transplantation, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events
Feng Y, Pai CW, Seiler K
Adverse outcomes associated with inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant starter pack prescription among patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective claims-based study.
This retrospective analysis investigated the risk for bleeding events with higher dosing of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) in the first 1-3 weeks of treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Findings showed that patients who received an inappropriate DOAC prescription were more likely to identify as Black. Rates of ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths overall were numerically lower in patients with starter pack DOAC prescriptions. In contrast, rates of ED visits and hospitalizations related to significant bleeding were numerically higher in patients with starter pack DOAC prescriptions. Among patients with AF but without acute venous thromboembolism, those who received an inappropriate DOAC starter pack had numerically higher rates of severe bleeding leading to ED visits and hospitalizations compared to those prescribed an appropriate non-starter pack DOAC anticoagulant.
AHRQ-funded; HS026874.
Citation: Feng Y, Pai CW, Seiler K .
Adverse outcomes associated with inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant starter pack prescription among patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective claims-based study.
J Thromb Thrombolysis 2021 May;51(4):1144-49. doi: 10.1007/s11239-020-02358-3..
Keywords: Blood Thinners, Medication, Medication: Safety, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions
Herrin J, Abraham NS, Yao X
Comparative effectiveness of machine learning approaches for predicting gastrointestinal bleeds in patients receiving antithrombotic treatment.
The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to compare the performance of 3 machine learning approaches with the commonly-used HAS-BLED (hypertension, abnormal kidney and liver function, stroke, bleeding, labile international normalized ratio, older age, and drug or alcohol use) risk score in predicting antithrombotic-related gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). The machine-learning models were regularized Cox proportional hazards regression (RegCox), random survival forests, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). Findings showed that the machine learning models revealed similar performance in identifying patients at high risk for GIB after being prescribed antithrombotic agents. Two models (RegCox and XGBoost) performed modestly better than the HAS-BLED score.
AHRQ-funded; HS025402.
Citation: Herrin J, Abraham NS, Yao X .
Comparative effectiveness of machine learning approaches for predicting gastrointestinal bleeds in patients receiving antithrombotic treatment.
JAMA Netw Open 2021 May;4(5):e2110703. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10703..
Keywords: Blood Thinners, Medication, Risk, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Comparative Effectiveness
Gurwitz JH, Kapoor A, Garber L
Effect of a multifaceted clinical pharmacist intervention on medication safety after hospitalization in persons prescribed high-risk medications: a randomized clinical trial.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether a multifaceted clinical pharmacist intervention improves medication safety for patients who are discharged from the hospital and prescribed medications within 1 or more of these high-risk drug classes: anticoagulants, diabetes agents, and opioids. The randomized clinical trial was conducted at a large multidisciplinary group practice in Massachusetts and included patients 50 years or older. Findings showed that there was not an observed lower rate of adverse drug-related incidents or clinically important medication errors during the posthospitalization period that was associated with a clinical pharmacist intervention.
AHRQ-funded; HS023774.
Citation: Gurwitz JH, Kapoor A, Garber L .
Effect of a multifaceted clinical pharmacist intervention on medication safety after hospitalization in persons prescribed high-risk medications: a randomized clinical trial.
JAMA Intern Med 2021 May;181(5):610-18. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.9285..
Keywords: Elderly, Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Provider: Pharmacist, Provider