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 Date
Topics
- Behavioral Health (2)
- Chronic Conditions (2)
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (1)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- Diabetes (2)
- (-) Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (13)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (2)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (10)
- Medication (1)
- Obesity (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient Safety (1)
- (-) Primary Care (13)
- Provider: Health Personnel (1)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (1)
- Quality of Care (2)
- Rural Health (1)
- Teams (1)
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 13 of 13 Research Studies DisplayedGraetz I, Huang J, Brand R
The impact of electronic health records and teamwork on diabetes care quality.
The researchers examined whether team cohesion among primary care team members changed the association between EHR use and changes in clinical outcomes for patients with diabetes. They found that patients cared for by higher cohesion primary care teams experienced modest but statistically significantly greater EHR-related health outcome improvements, compared with patients cared for by providers practicing in lower cohesion teams.
AHRQ-funded; HS015280; HS021082.
Citation: Graetz I, Huang J, Brand R .
The impact of electronic health records and teamwork on diabetes care quality.
Am J Manag Care 2015 Dec;21(12):878-84.
.
.
Keywords: Diabetes, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality of Care, Primary Care, Teams
Phillips RL, Jr., Bazemore AW, DeVoe JE
A family medicine health technology strategy for achieving the triple aim for US health care.
To inform the Family Medicine for America's Health (FMAHealth) initiative, this paper explores strategies and tactics that family medicine could pursue to improve the utility of technology for primary care and to help primary care become a leader in rapid development, testing, and implementation of new technologies. These strategies were also designed with a broader stakeholder audience in mind, intending to reach beyond the work being done by FMAHealth.
AHRQ-funded; HS022583.
Citation: Phillips RL, Jr., Bazemore AW, DeVoe JE .
A family medicine health technology strategy for achieving the triple aim for US health care.
Fam Med 2015 Sep;47(8):628-35.
.
.
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Healthcare Delivery, Primary Care, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Cifuentes M, Davis M, Fernald D
Electronic health record challenges, workarounds, and solutions observed in practices integrating behavioral health and primary care.
This article describes the electronic health record (EHR)-related experiences of practices striving to integrate behavioral health and primary care using tailored, evidenced-based strategies from 2012 to 2014; and the challenges, workarounds and initial health information technology (HIT) solutions that emerged during implementation. The researchers found that as practices gained experience with integration, they began to move beyond workarounds to more permanent HIT solutions.
AHRQ-funded; HS022981.
Citation: Cifuentes M, Davis M, Fernald D .
Electronic health record challenges, workarounds, and solutions observed in practices integrating behavioral health and primary care.
J Am Board Fam Med 2015 Sep-Oct;28(Suppl 1):S63-72. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.S1.150133..
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Primary Care, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Evidence-Based Practice
Baer HJ, Wee CC, DeVito K
Design of a cluster-randomized trial of electronic health record-based tools to address overweight and obesity in primary care.
The researchers described the design of a trial to examine the effectiveness of electronic health record-based tools for the assessment and management of overweight and obesity among adult primary care patients, as well as the challenges encountered. New features included reminders to measure height and weight, and an alert asking providers to add overweight or obesity to the problem list.
AHRQ-funded; HS019789.
Citation: Baer HJ, Wee CC, DeVito K .
Design of a cluster-randomized trial of electronic health record-based tools to address overweight and obesity in primary care.
Clin Trials 2015 Aug;12(4):374-83. doi: 10.1177/1740774515578132..
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Obesity, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Clinician-Patient Communication
Dalal AK, Pesterev BM, Eibensteiner K
Linking acknowledgement to action: closing the loop on non-urgent, clinically significant test results in the electronic health record.
This study measured use of an acknowledgment tool by 146 primary care physicians (PCPs) at 13 network-affiliated practices that use the same EHR. It then surveyed PCPs to assess use of, satisfaction with, and desired enhancements to the acknowledgment tool. Most (64 percent) were satisfied with the tool. Both satisfied and nonsatisfied PCPs reported that enhancements linking acknowledgment to routine actions would be useful.
AHRQ-funded; HS019603.
Citation: Dalal AK, Pesterev BM, Eibensteiner K .
Linking acknowledgement to action: closing the loop on non-urgent, clinically significant test results in the electronic health record.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2015 Jul;22(4):905-8. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocv007..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Primary Care, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Morton S, Shih SC, Winther CH
Health IT-enabled care coordination: A national survey of patient-centered medical home clinicians.
This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of 6 proposed care coordination objectives for stage 3 of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services electronic health record incentive program (Meaningful Use) related to referrals, notification of care from other facilities, patient clinical summaries, and patient dashboards. It found that the activity most frequently supported by health IT was providing clinical summaries to patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022693.
Citation: Morton S, Shih SC, Winther CH .
Health IT-enabled care coordination: A national survey of patient-centered medical home clinicians.
Ann Fam Med 2015 May-Jun;13(3):250-6. doi: 10.1370/afm.1797..
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Primary Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare
Ornstein SM, Nemeth LS, Nietert PJ
Learning from primary care meaningful use exemplars.
This report presents the results of a multimethod study combining an EHR-based clinical quality measurements (CQM) performance assessment, a provider survey, and focus groups among high CQM performers. It concluded that purposeful use of EHR functionality coupled with staff education in a milieu where Quality Improvement is valued and supported is associated with higher performance on CQM.
AHRQ-funded; HS022701; HS018984.
Citation: Ornstein SM, Nemeth LS, Nietert PJ .
Learning from primary care meaningful use exemplars.
J Am Board Fam Med 2015 May-Jun;28(3):360-70. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.03.140219..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care
Bishop TF, Ryan MS, McCullough CM
Do provider attitudes about electronic health records predict future electronic health record use?
The authors studied whether comfort with technology and more positive attitudes about EHRs affect use of EHR functions once they are adopted. They found that comfort with computers and attitudes about EHRs did not predict future use of the EHR functions, suggesting that meaningful use of the EHR may not be affected by providers' prior attitudes about EHRs.
AHRQ-funded; HS018546.
Citation: Bishop TF, Ryan MS, McCullough CM .
Do provider attitudes about electronic health records predict future electronic health record use?
Healthc (Amst) 2015 Mar;3(1):5-11. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2014.04.002.
.
.
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Provider: Health Personnel, Primary Care
Tannenbaum D, Doctor JN, Persell SD
Nudging physician prescription decisions by partitioning the order set: results of a vignette-based study.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether the grouping of menu items systematically affects prescribing practices among primary care providers. It found that provider treatment choice appears to be influenced by the grouping of menu options, suggesting that the layout of EHR order sets is not an arbitrary exercise.
AHRQ-funded; RC4 AG039115 (NIA/AHRQ).
Citation: Tannenbaum D, Doctor JN, Persell SD .
Nudging physician prescription decisions by partitioning the order set: results of a vignette-based study.
J Gen Intern Med 2015 Mar;30(3):298-304. doi: 10.1007/s11606-014-3051-2..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Primary Care, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication
Jones JB, Weiner JP, Shah NR
The wired patient: patterns of electronic patient portal use among patients with cardiac disease or diabetes.
The researchers described the types and patterns of portal users in an integrated delivery system. They found naturally occurring groups of EHR Web portal users within a population of adult primary care patients with chronic conditions. More than half of the patient cohort exhibited distinct patterns of portal use linked to key features.
AHRQ-funded; HS016228.
Citation: Jones JB, Weiner JP, Shah NR .
The wired patient: patterns of electronic patient portal use among patients with cardiac disease or diabetes.
J Med Internet Res 2015 Feb 20;17(2):e42. doi: 10.2196/jmir.3157..
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Primary Care, Healthcare Delivery, Chronic Conditions
Herrin J, da Graca B, Aponte P
Impact of an EHR-based diabetes management form on quality and outcomes of diabetes care in primary care practices.
The researchers assessed the impact of a diabetes management form (DMF) accessible within an electronic health record on the quality and outcomes of diabetes care. They found that although tests (microalbumin, eye and foot exams) increased more for DMF-exposed patients, these patients had less improvement in achieving outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS020696
Citation: Herrin J, da Graca B, Aponte P .
Impact of an EHR-based diabetes management form on quality and outcomes of diabetes care in primary care practices.
Am J Med Qual. 2015 Jan-Feb;30(1):14-22. doi: 10.1177/1062860613516991..
Keywords: Diabetes, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Chronic Conditions
Anderson HD, Pace WD, Brandt E
Monitoring suicidal patients in primary care using electronic health records.
The objective of this study was to estimate the use of diagnostic codes in EHRs to document suicidal ideation and attempt among patients seen in primary care. It found that few cases of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt as documented in a primary care setting using a clinician’s notes field or a patient-reported PHQ-9 were also documented in the patient’s EHR using diagnostic codes.
AHRQ-funded; HS019464.
Citation: Anderson HD, Pace WD, Brandt E .
Monitoring suicidal patients in primary care using electronic health records.
J Am Board Fam Med 2015 Jan-Feb;28(1):65-71. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.01.140181..
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Primary Care, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Green LA, Potworowski G, Day A
Sustaining "meaningful use" of health information technology in low-resource practices.
The objective of this paper was to identify potential barriers to maintenance of meaningful use of EHRs in priority primary care practices using a qualitative observational study for federally qualified health centers and priority practices in Michigan. The authors concluded that priority practices, especially in rural areas, are at high risk for falling on the wrong side of a digital divide as payers and regulators enact increasing expectations for EHR use and information management.
AHRQ-funded; HS018170.
Citation: Green LA, Potworowski G, Day A .
Sustaining "meaningful use" of health information technology in low-resource practices.
Ann Fam Med 2015 Jan-Feb;13(1):17-22. doi: 10.1370/afm.1740.
.
.
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Rural Health