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
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 4 of 4 Research Studies DisplayedUsher MC, Tignanelli CJ, Hilliard B
Responding to COVID-19 through interhospital resource coordination: a mixed-methods evaluation
Researchers sought to describe a novel hospital system approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic, including multihospital coordination capability and transfer of COVID-19 patients to a single, dedicated hospital. They found that, with standardized communication, interhospital transfers were a safe and effective method of cohorting COVID-19 patients, were well-received by health care providers, and had the potential to improve care quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379; HS026732.
Citation: Usher MC, Tignanelli CJ, Hilliard B .
Responding to COVID-19 through interhospital resource coordination: a mixed-methods evaluation
J Patient Saf 2022 Jun 1;18(4):287-94. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000916..
Keywords: COVID-19, Hospitals, Healthcare Delivery, Public Health, Care Coordination, Transitions of Care
Everson J, Adler-Milstein JR, Hollingsworth JM
Dispersion in the hospital network of shared patients is associated with less efficient care.
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of distribution of patient-sharing networks across U.S. hospitals and its relationship with 3 measures of care delivered by hospitals that were likely to relate to coordination. The researchers utilized data from 2016 Medicare Fee-for-Service claims to measure the volume of patients that hospitals treated in common, and then calculated a measure of dispersion for each hospital. The relationship between network dispersion, Medicare spending per beneficiary, readmission rates, and emergency department (ED) throughput rates were then estimated. The study reported that hospitals with more dispersed networks had greater spending rates but not higher admission rates or slower ED processes. Among hospitals with less resources, more dispersion was associated with higher readmission rates and slower ED processes. The researchers concluded that dispersed interhospital networks create difficulties in coordinating patients who are treated at multiple hospitals, and that the structure of patient-sharing networks may be an overlooked factor that influences the delivery of care in health care organizations.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395, HS024525, HS024728, HS024454.
Citation: Everson J, Adler-Milstein JR, Hollingsworth JM .
Dispersion in the hospital network of shared patients is associated with less efficient care.
Health Care Manage Rev 2022 Apr-Jun;47(2):88-99. doi: 10.1097/hmr.0000000000000295..
Keywords: Medicare, Hospitals, Care Coordination, Healthcare Delivery
White EM, Kosar CM, Rahman M
Trends in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities sharing medical providers, 2008-16.
Hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) face increasing pressure to improve care coordination and reduce unnecessary readmissions. One strategy to accomplish this is to share physicians and advanced practice clinicians, so that the same providers see patients in both settings. Using 2008-16 Medicare claims, the investigators found that as SNFs moved increasingly toward using SNF specialists, there was a steady decline in the number of facilities sharing medical providers and in the proportion of SNF primary care delivered by provider practices with both hospital and SNF clinicians (hospital-SNF practices).
AHRQ-funded; T32 HS000011.
Citation: White EM, Kosar CM, Rahman M .
Trends in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities sharing medical providers, 2008-16.
Health Aff 2020 Aug;39(8):1312-20. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01502..
Keywords: Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Care Coordination, Healthcare Delivery
Timbie JW, Kranz AM, Mahmud A
Federally qualified health center strategies for integrating care with hospitals and their association with measures of communication.
Federally qualified health centers have aligned clinical services and systems with local hospitals, but little is known about the specific care integration strategies health centers use or their impact on care. In this study, a research team examined the use of strategies by health centers to integrate care with hospitals and emergency departments (EDs) and their association with performance on measures of health center-hospital communication.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Timbie JW, Kranz AM, Mahmud A .
Federally qualified health center strategies for integrating care with hospitals and their association with measures of communication.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Sep;45(9):620-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.06.004..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Hospitals, Communication, Emergency Department, Care Coordination, Healthcare Delivery