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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
1 to 25 of 95 Research Studies DisplayedAuerbach AD, Lee TM, Hubbard CC
Diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care.
The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the prevalence, underlying causes, and harms of diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who were transferred to an intensive care unit or who died. Data was taken from 29 academic medical centers in the U.S. in a random sample of adults hospitalized with general medical conditions. Errors were found to have contributed to temporary harm, permanent harm, or death in nearly 18% of patients; among patients who died, diagnostic error was judged to have contributed to death in 6.6% of cases. The researchers noted that problems with choosing and interpreting tests and the processes involved with clinician assessment were a high priority for improvement efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369.
Citation: Auerbach AD, Lee TM, Hubbard CC .
Diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care.
JAMA Intern Med 2024 Feb; 184(2):164-73. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.7347..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Adverse Events
Dalal AK, Schnipper JL, Raffel K
Identifying and classifying diagnostic errors in acute care across hospitals: early lessons from the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study.
This paper describes the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study, whose aim was to define the prevalence and underlying causes of diagnostic errors (DEs) in patients who die in the hospital or are transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) after the first 48 hours. This study was conducted at 31 hospitals with more than 2500 cases reviewed using electronic health records. The authors identified some insights into key requirements into building a robust DE surveillance program by developing these steps: 1) Develop a shared understanding of what constitutes a diagnostic error; 2) Use validated tools to identify diagnostic errors and classify process failures, but respect your context; 3) Develop a standard approach to using electronic health records for case reviews; 4) Ensure reliability and consistency of the case review process; and 5) Link diagnostic error case reviews to institutional safety programs. They also developed steps to establish a diagnosis error review process at the hospital level with six processes.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369; HS026613.
Citation: Dalal AK, Schnipper JL, Raffel K .
Identifying and classifying diagnostic errors in acute care across hospitals: early lessons from the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study.
J Hosp Med 2024 Feb; 19(2):140-45. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13136..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Hospitals
Ali KJ, Goeschel CA, DeLia DM
The PRIDx framework to engage payers in reducing diagnostic errors in healthcare.
The authors conducted a literature review and interviewed subject matter experts to develop a multi-component Payer Relationships for Improving Diagnoses (PRIDx) framework. The PRIDx framework can be used to encourage public and private payers to take specific actions to improve diagnostic safety. The authors noted that implementation of the PRIDx framework will require new types of partnerships, including external support from public and private payer organizations, and also require the creation of strong provider incentives.
AHRQ-funded; 2332015000221.
Citation: Ali KJ, Goeschel CA, DeLia DM .
The PRIDx framework to engage payers in reducing diagnostic errors in healthcare.
https://www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37795579.
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Quality of Care, Patient Safety
Newman-Toker DE, Nassery N, Schaffer AC
Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA.
Americans who experience serious harm from misdiagnosis annually. Serious harm is defined as permanent morbidity or morality. This cross-sectional analysis used nationally representative observational data. The authors estimated annual incident vascular events and infections from 21.5 million (M) sampled US hospital discharges (2012-2014). US-based cancer registries were used to find annual new cancers. They derived diagnostic errors and serious harms by multiplying by literature-based rates for disease-specific incidences for 15 major vascular events, infections and cancers ('Big Three' categories). Extrapolating to all diseases (including non-'Big Three' dangerous disease categories), they estimated total serious harms annually in the USA to be 795,000 (plausible range 598,000-1,023,000). Using more conservative assumptions they estimated 549,000 serious harms. These results were compatible with setting-specific serious harm estimates from inpatient, emergency department and ambulatory care. Fifteen dangerous diseases accounted for 50.7% of total serious harms and the top 5 (stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism and lung cancer) accounted for 38.7%.
AHRQ-funded; HS027614; HS029350.
Citation: Newman-Toker DE, Nassery N, Schaffer AC .
Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA.
BMJ Qual Saf 2024 Jan 19; 33(2):109-20. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2021-014130..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Adverse Events
Li J
Home health agencies with high quality of patient care star ratings reduced short-term hospitalization rates and increased days independently at home.
Accurate Medicare Quality of Patient Care home health star ratings are crucial to helping patients find high-quality care, yet critics of these ratings indicate that they are not valid. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess whether using the highest-rated home health agency available in a ZIP code improves outcomes. The researchers included 1,870,080 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries using home health care from July 2015 through July 2016 in the United States. The study found that treatment by the highest-rated agencies available decreased risks of hospitalization, emergency department use, and institutionalization during the initial episode, and increased days independently at home by 2.6% or 3.75 days in the 180 days after the end of the initial episode. Treatment effects were stronger for agencies that were above-average, had 1 or more stars than the next-best agency, and nonrural residents. Effects were positive for both postacute and community-entry patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS026836.
Citation: Li J .
Home health agencies with high quality of patient care star ratings reduced short-term hospitalization rates and increased days independently at home.
Med Care 2024 Jan; 62(1):11-20. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001930..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Quality of Care, Hospitalization, Provider Performance
Skube SJ, Hu Z, Arsoniadis EG
Characterizing surgical site infection signals in clinical notes.
Building off of previous work for automated and semi-automated surgical site infections (SSIs) detection using expert-derived "strong features" from clinical notes, researchers hypothesized that additional SSI phrases may be contained in clinical notes. They systematically characterized phrases and expressions associated with SSIs. While 83 percent of expert-derived original terms overlapped with new terms and modifiers, an additional 362 modifiers associated with both positive and negative SSI signals were identified.
AHRQ-funded; HS024532.
Citation: Skube SJ, Hu Z, Arsoniadis EG .
Characterizing surgical site infection signals in clinical notes.
Stud Health Technol Inform 2017;245:955-59.
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Keywords: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Surgery, Injuries and Wounds, Patient Safety, Adverse Events, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Goff SL, Mazor KM, Guhn-Knight H
Factors that matter to low-income and racial/ethnic minority mothers when choosing a pediatric practice: a mixed methods analysis.
The authors sought to understand potential barriers to using quality data by assessing what factors mattered to women when choosing a pediatric practice. They found that pediatrician characteristics and factors related to access to care may be more important to low-income and racial/ethnic minority women than more commonly reported quality metrics.
AHRQ-funded; HS021864.
Citation: Goff SL, Mazor KM, Guhn-Knight H .
Factors that matter to low-income and racial/ethnic minority mothers when choosing a pediatric practice: a mixed methods analysis.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2017 Dec;4(6):1051-60. doi: 10.1007/s40615-016-0309-x.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Quality of Care, Low-Income, Children/Adolescents, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Wang Y, Spatz ES, Tariq M
Home health agency performance in the United States: 2011-15.
This review’s evaluation of home health agency quality performance included 11,462 Medicare-certified home health agencies that served 92.4 percent of all ZIP codes nationwide, accounting for 315.2 million people. It found that home health agency performance on several quality indicators varied, and many agencies were persistently in the lowest quartile of performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS023000.
Citation: Wang Y, Spatz ES, Tariq M .
Home health agency performance in the United States: 2011-15.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2017 Dec;65(12):2572-79. doi: 10.1111/jgs.14987.
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Keywords: Quality of Care, Home Healthcare, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Khandelwal N, Curtis JR, Freedman VA
How often is end-of-life care in the United States inconsistent with patients' goals of care?
The purpose of this study was to document the proportion of bereaved respondents who reported care inconsistent with patients' wishes and characterize the predictors of end-of-life care associated with inconsistent care. The study found that one in eight respondents stated care in the last months of life was inconsistent with patients' wishes; such care was associated with worse ratings of care, pain management, and communication with clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS022982.
Citation: Khandelwal N, Curtis JR, Freedman VA .
How often is end-of-life care in the United States inconsistent with patients' goals of care?
J Palliat Med 2017 Dec;20(12):1400-04. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2017.0065..
Keywords: Care Management, Healthcare Delivery, Elderly, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Quality of Care
Haynes AB, Edmondson LB, Lipsitz SR
Mortality trends after a voluntary checklist-based surgical safety collaborative.
This study sought to determine whether completion of a voluntary, checklist-based surgical quality improvement program is associated with reduced 30-day postoperative mortality. It It found that, despite similar pre-existing rates and trends of postoperative mortality, hospitals in South Carolina completing a voluntary checklist-based surgical quality improvement program had a reduction in deaths after inpatient surgery over the first 3 years of the collaborative compared with other hospitals in the state.
AHRQ-funded; HS019631.
Citation: Haynes AB, Edmondson LB, Lipsitz SR .
Mortality trends after a voluntary checklist-based surgical safety collaborative.
Annals of Surgery 2017 Dec;266(6):923-29. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002249.
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Keywords: Mortality, Patient Safety, Surgery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Childers CP, Childers KK, Maggard-Gibbons M
National estimates of genetic testing in women with a history of breast or ovarian cancer.
In the United States, 3.8 million women have a history of breast (BC) or ovarian cancer (OC). Up to 15 percent of cases are attributable to heritable mutations, which, if identified, provide critical knowledge for treatment and preventive care. This study found that fewer than one in five individuals with a history of BC or OC meeting select National Cancer Comprehensive Network criteria have undergone genetic testing.
AHRQ-funded; HS025079.
Citation: Childers CP, Childers KK, Maggard-Gibbons M .
National estimates of genetic testing in women with a history of breast or ovarian cancer.
J Clin Oncol 2017 Dec 1;35(34):3800-06. doi: 10.1200/jco.2017.73.6314.
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Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Breast Cancer, Cancer: Ovarian Cancer, Family Health and History, Genetics, Quality of Care, Screening, Women
Sarkar U, McDonald K, Motala A
Pragmatic insights on patient safety priorities and intervention strategies in ambulatory settings.
In this article, the investigators (1) reviewed the methods and results for the key informant input process for a Technical Brief on ambulatory safety commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), (2) summarized the key informant perspectives on ambulatory safety, (3) expanded on key informant input with specific recommendations for an ambulatory safety agenda, (4) reported on existing initiatives and progress related to key informant perspectives and our recommendations, and (5) proposed specific research and policy activities that would advance ambulatory safety.
AHRQ-funded; 290201500010I.
Citation: Sarkar U, McDonald K, Motala A .
Pragmatic insights on patient safety priorities and intervention strategies in ambulatory settings.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2017 Dec;43(12):661-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2017.06.009..
Keywords: Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Patient Safety, Quality of Care
Cole MB, Wilson IB, Trivedi AN
State variation in quality outcomes and disparities in outcomes in community health centers.
The researchers estimated between-state variation in hypertension, diabetes, and pregnancy outcomes and racial/ethnic disparities in these outcomes for health center patients. They found wide variation in both outcomes and racial/ethnic disparities in outcomes between states for patients seen at health centers..
AHRQ-funded; HS024652.
Citation: Cole MB, Wilson IB, Trivedi AN .
State variation in quality outcomes and disparities in outcomes in community health centers.
Med Care 2017 Dec;55(12):1001-07. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000818.
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Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Disparities, Quality of Care, Outcomes, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Joyce NR, Huskamp HA, Hadland SE
The alternative quality contract: impact on service use and spending for children with ADHD.
The authors used Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) claims for 2006-2011 to compare youths enrolled in provider organizations participating in the alternative quality contract (AQC) with those not participating. They found that the AQC was associated with small increases in the probability of any outpatient visits and in the probability and number of medication management visits among children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Further, spending did not change, and there was no evidence of reductions in service utilization or spending for children with ADHD in the first three years of AQC implementation.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Joyce NR, Huskamp HA, Hadland SE .
The alternative quality contract: impact on service use and spending for children with ADHD.
Psychiatr Serv 2017 Dec;68(12):1210-12. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201700143.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Payment, Quality of Care, Healthcare Costs
Paddock SM, Damberg CL, Yanagihara D
What role does efficiency play in understanding the relationship between cost and quality in physician organizations?
Previous studies demonstrate overuse of a narrow set of services, suggesting provider inefficiency, but existing studies neither quantify inefficiency more broadly nor assess its variation across physician organizations (POs). This study found that POs had substantial variation in efficiency, producing widely differing levels of quality for the same cost.
AHRQ-funded; HS021860.
Citation: Paddock SM, Damberg CL, Yanagihara D .
What role does efficiency play in understanding the relationship between cost and quality in physician organizations?
Med Care 2017 Dec;55(12):1039-45. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000823.
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Keywords: Practice Patterns, Healthcare Costs, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Payment, Provider Performance
Qiu J, Harold Li H, Zhang T
Automatic x-ray image contrast enhancement based on parameter auto-optimization.
Insufficient image contrast associated with radiation therapy daily setup x-ray images could negatively affect accurate patient treatment setup. The study authors developed a method to perform automatic and user-independent contrast enhancement on 2D kilo voltage (kV) and megavoltage (MV) x-ray images. The study concluded that the proposed method is able to outperform the standard image contrast adjustment procedures that are currently used in the commercial clinical systems.
AHRQ-funded; HS022888.
Citation: Qiu J, Harold Li H, Zhang T .
Automatic x-ray image contrast enhancement based on parameter auto-optimization.
J Appl Clin Med Phys 2017 Nov;18(6):218-23. doi: 10.1002/acm2.12172..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Quality of Care, Imaging, Patient Safety
Colla CH, Mainor AJ
Choosing Wisely Campaign: valuable for providers who knew about it, but awareness remained constant, 2014-17.
The Choosing Wisely campaign has codified recommendations of which health care services' use should be questioned and discussed with patients. The ABIM Foundation administered surveys in 2014 and 2017 to examine physicians' attitudes toward and awareness of the use of low-value care. There were no significant changes between 2014 and 2017 in awareness of the campaign among physicians or physician-reported difficulty in talking to patients about avoiding a low-value service.
AHRQ-funded; HS023812.
Citation: Colla CH, Mainor AJ .
Choosing Wisely Campaign: valuable for providers who knew about it, but awareness remained constant, 2014-17.
Health Aff 2017 Nov;36(11):2005-11. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0945.
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Keywords: Shared Decision Making, Guidelines, Quality of Care, Health Services Research (HSR), Clinician-Patient Communication
Hefele JG, Ritter GA, Bishop CE
Examining racial and ethnic differences in nursing home quality.
The authors measured within-facility differences for a range of publicly reported nursing home quality measures. They found that, on average, care is delivered equally across all racial/ethnic groups in the same nursing home. They concluded that nursing home providers should attempt to identify racial/ethnic within-facility differences in care.
AHRQ-funded; HS021891.
Citation: Hefele JG, Ritter GA, Bishop CE .
Examining racial and ethnic differences in nursing home quality.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2017 Nov;43(11):554-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2017.06.003.
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Keywords: Disparities, Quality of Care, Nursing Homes, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Public Reporting
Kamal AH, Nicolla JM, Power S
Quality improvement pearls for the palliative care and hospice professional.
In this article, the authors provide a prioritized list of 10 tips specifically aimed to palliative care and hospice professionals, using their experience in both failures and successes in performing quality improvement. They aim to demystify quality improvement, highlight areas where rigor and a systematic approach are needed for success, and offer their own lessons learned and mistakes made to promote success for others.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Kamal AH, Nicolla JM, Power S .
Quality improvement pearls for the palliative care and hospice professional.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Nov;54(5):758-65. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.07.040..
Keywords: Palliative Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Rogith D, Iyengar MS, Singh H
Using fault trees to advance understanding of diagnostic errors.
In this study, the investigators used fault trees to advance understanding of diagnostic errors. A team of three experts reviewed 10 published cases of diagnostic error and constructed fault trees. The fault trees were modeled according to currently available conceptual frameworks characterizing diagnostic error. The 10 trees were then synthesized into a single fault tree to identify common contributing factors and pathways leading to diagnostic error. The investigators indicate that fault trees might provide a useful framework for both quantitative and qualitative analysis of diagnostic errors.
AHRQ-funded; HS022087; HS023602.
Citation: Rogith D, Iyengar MS, Singh H .
Using fault trees to advance understanding of diagnostic errors.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2017 Nov;43(11):598-605. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2017.06.007..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Ellimoottil C, Syrjamaki JD, Volt JD
Validation of a claims-based algorithm to characterize episodes of care.
The Michigan Value Collaborative (MVC) developed a claims-based algorithm to provide hospitals with data on events that occur to patients beyond the hospitalization. In this article, the investigators discuss the validation of MVC's claims-based algorithm. They indicate that their findings suggest that the MVC claims-based algorithm identifies and classifies claims with high fidelity and outperforms medical records in the identification of postdischarge events.
AHRQ-funded; HS024193.
Citation: Ellimoottil C, Syrjamaki JD, Volt JD .
Validation of a claims-based algorithm to characterize episodes of care.
Am J Manag Care 2017 Nov;23(11):e382-e86..
Keywords: Hospital Discharge, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Ndumele CD, Cohen MS, Cleary PD
Association of state access standards with accessibility to specialists for Medicaid managed care enrollees.
The researchers compared ratings of access to specialists for adult Medicaid and commercial enrollees before and after the implementation of specialty access standards. Overall, there was no significant improvement in timely access to specialty services for Medicaid managed care enrollees in the period following implementation of standard(s) nor was there any impact of access standards on insurance-based disparities in access.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978; HS017589.
Citation: Ndumele CD, Cohen MS, Cleary PD .
Association of state access standards with accessibility to specialists for Medicaid managed care enrollees.
JAMA Intern Med 2017 Oct;177(10):1445-51. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.3766.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality of Care, Health Insurance, Patient Experience
Masnick M, Morgan DJ, Sorkin JD
Can national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) data differentiate hospitals in the United States?
This study was designed to determine whether patients using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website can use nationally reported healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data to differentiate hospitals. The authors concluded that HAI data generally are reported by enough hospitals to meet minimal criteria for useful comparisons in many geographic locations, though this varies by type of HAI.
AHRQ-funded; HS018111.
Citation: Masnick M, Morgan DJ, Sorkin JD .
Can national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) data differentiate hospitals in the United States?
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017 Oct;38(10):1167-71. doi: 10.1017/ice.2017.179..
Keywords: Quality of Care, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Provider Performance, Quality Measures
Schmajuk G, Yazdany J
Leveraging the electronic health record to improve quality and safety in rheumatology.
In the coming years, developing and leveraging tools within the electronic health record (EHR) will be the key to making the next big strides in improving the health of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatic diseases, including building EHR infrastructure to capture patient outcomes and developing automated methods to retrieve information from free text of clinical notes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024412.
Citation: Schmajuk G, Yazdany J .
Leveraging the electronic health record to improve quality and safety in rheumatology.
Rheumatol Int 2017 Oct;37(10):1603-10. doi: 10.1007/s00296-017-3804-4.
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Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Arthritis
Kamal AH, Taylor DH, Neely B
One size does not fit all: disease profiles of serious illness patients receiving specialty palliative care.
This study was one of the first to describe symptom burden and functional scores by diagnostic categories and care settings across a community-based interdisciplinary specialty palliative care program. Results demonstrated statistically significant and clinically relevant differences among settings of care, functional status, and symptom profiles between patients with various serious illnesses.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Kamal AH, Taylor DH, Neely B .
One size does not fit all: disease profiles of serious illness patients receiving specialty palliative care.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Oct;54(4):476-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.07.035..
Keywords: Quality of Care, Palliative Care, Quality Improvement