National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Events (4)
- Behavioral Health (1)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Critical Care (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (2)
- Disparities (3)
- Emergency Department (1)
- Emergency Preparedness (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Falls (1)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (3)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (3)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Healthcare Utilization (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
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- Hospital Readmissions (1)
- (-) Hospitals (16)
- Infectious Diseases (2)
- Influenza (1)
- Inpatient Care (2)
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (1)
- Medical Errors (3)
- Medicare (2)
- Medication (1)
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (1)
- Organizational Change (1)
- Patient Safety (8)
- Prevention (3)
- Provider (1)
- Provider Performance (2)
- Public Reporting (1)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (1)
- Quality of Care (6)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
- Surgery (2)
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 16 of 16 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
Nash KA, Weerahandi H, Yu H
Measuring equity in readmission as a distinct assessment of hospital performance.
This study examined the measure of equitable readmissions in hospitals as developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Objectives were to define a measure of equitable readmissions; identify hospitals with equitable readmissions by insurance (dual eligible vs non-dual eligible) or patient race (Black vs White); and compare hospitals with and without equitable readmissions by hospital characteristics and performance on accountability measures (quality, cost, and value). The authors used data from a cross-section of hospitals who were eligible for the CMS Hospital-Wide Readmission measure using Medicare data from July 2018 through June 2019. Of 4638 hospitals, they found that 74% served a sufficient number of dual-eligible patients, and 42% served a sufficient number of Black patients to apply CMS Disparity Methods by insurance and race. Of these eligible hospitals, 17% had equitable readmission rates by insurance and 30% by race. Hospitals with equitable readmissions by insurance or race cared for a lower percentage of Black patients (insurance, 1.9% vs 3.3%, race, 7.6% vs 9.3%), and differed from nonequitable hospitals in multiple domains (teaching status, geography, size. In examining equity by insurance, hospitals with low costs were more likely to have equitable readmissions, and there was no relationship between quality and value, and equity. In examining equity by race, hospitals with high overall quality were more likely to have equitable readmissions, and there was no relationship between cost and value, and equity.
AHRQ-funded; HS022882.
Citation: Nash KA, Weerahandi H, Yu H .
Measuring equity in readmission as a distinct assessment of hospital performance.
JAMA 2024 Jan 9; 331(2):111-23. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.24874..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Provider Performance, Disparities
Wolf RM, Hall M, Williams DJ
Disparities in pharmacologic restraint for children hospitalized in mental health crisis.
This retrospective cohort study examined associations between pharmacologic restraint use and race and ethnicity among children (aged 5-≤18 years) admitted for mental health conditions to acute care nonpsychiatric children's hospitals. Study period was 2018 to 2022 and was conducted at 41 US children’s hospitals and included a cohort of 61,503 hospitalizations. Compared with non-Hispanic Black children, children of non-Hispanic White (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.81), Asian (aOR, 0.82), or other race and ethnicity (aOR, 0.68) were less likely to receive pharmacologic restraint, with no significant difference with Hispanic children. When stratified by sex, racial/ethnic differences were magnified in males, except for Hispanic males, and not found in females. Sensitivity analysis revealed amplified disparities for all racial/ethnic groups, including Hispanic youth.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Wolf RM, Hall M, Williams DJ .
Disparities in pharmacologic restraint for children hospitalized in mental health crisis.
Pediatrics 2024 Jan; 153(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-061353..
Keywords: Disparities, Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Inpatient Care, Hospitals, Medication
Sherman KL, Gordon EJ, Mahvi DM
Surgeons' perceptions of public reporting of hospital and individual surgeon quality.
This study (1) evaluated surgeons’ perceptions of public reporting of surgical quality; and (2) identified specific barriers to surgeons’ acceptance of public reporting. It found that surgeons are generally in favor of public reporting, but that they continue to have substantive concerns, particularly with respect to reporting individual level outcomes data.
AHRQ-funded; HS021857.
Citation: Sherman KL, Gordon EJ, Mahvi DM .
Surgeons' perceptions of public reporting of hospital and individual surgeon quality.
Med Care 2013 Dec;51(12):1069-75. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000013..
Keywords: Public Reporting, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Surgery, Provider Performance
Harris AD, Pineles L, Belton B
Universal glove and gown use and acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the ICU: a randomized trial.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality. It is unknown whether wearing gloves and gowns for all patient contact in the intensive care unit (ICU) decreases acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The purpose of this study was to assess whether wearing gloves and gowns for all patient contact in the ICU decreases acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) compared with usual care.
AHRQ-funded; HS018111; 290200600015.
Citation: Harris AD, Pineles L, Belton B .
Universal glove and gown use and acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the ICU: a randomized trial.
JAMA 2013 Oct 16;310(15):1571-80. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.277815..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Infectious Diseases, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Hospitals, Prevention, Critical Care
Zimring C, Denham ME, Jacob JT
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/193758671300701S09
The role of facility design in preventing healthcare-associated infection: interventions, conclusions, and research needs.
The objective of this report was to summarize the findings and provide recommendations based on the multidisciplinary literature review and industry scan, focusing on the links between the built environment and healthcare-associated infections. It concluded that there are currently few data that demonstrate a reduction in infection rates. There is a need for multidisciplinary collaboration and increased efforts to standardize the evaluation of environmental studies.
AHRQ-funded; 290201000024I.
Citation: Zimring C, Denham ME, Jacob JT .
The role of facility design in preventing healthcare-associated infection: interventions, conclusions, and research needs.
HERD 2013 Oct;7(1 suppl):127-39..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Quality of Care, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals
Steinberg JP, Denham ME, Zimring C
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276382905/download
The role of the hospital environment in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections by contact transmission.
The authors describe the role of the hospital environment in the spread of pathogens by direct and indirect contact. In addition, the prevention of transmission through interventions involving the built environment is discussed. They conclude that enhanced environmental cleaning including touchless technologies and self-cleaning surfaces can reduce environmental contamination and may prevent infections.
AHRQ-funded; 290201000024I.
Citation: Steinberg JP, Denham ME, Zimring C .
The role of the hospital environment in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections by contact transmission.
HERD 2013 Oct;7(1 suppl):46-73..
Keywords: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Infectious Diseases, Hospitals, Prevention, Patient Safety
O'Donnell BE, Schneider KM, Brooks JM
Standardizing Medicare payment information to support examining geographic variation in costs.
This paper describes a method for standardizing claim payments, and demonstrates the difference in actual versus standardized payments by geographic region. It found that without standardization of payments, certain areas of the country are mischaracterized as either high or low healthcare resource-consuming areas.
AHRQ-funded; HS019574; HS019440.
Citation: O'Donnell BE, Schneider KM, Brooks JM .
Standardizing Medicare payment information to support examining geographic variation in costs.
Medicare Medicaid Res Rev 2013 Sep 10;3(3). doi: 10.5600/mmrr.003.03.a06..
Keywords: Medicare, Healthcare Costs, Hospitalization, Hospitals
Paez K, Roper RA, Andrews RM
AHRQ Author: Roper RA, Andrews RM
Health information technology and hospital patient safety: a conceptual model to guide research.
The authors developed a conceptual model to guide research in sorting out the complex relationships between health information technology (HIT) and the quality and safety of care. They found the model difficult to operationalize because available HIT adoption data did not characterize features and extent of usage, and patient safety measures did not elucidate the process failures leading to safety-related outcomes. Their findings illustrated the critical need for collecting data that are germane to HIT and the possible mechanisms by which HIT may affect inpatient safety.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded.
Citation: Paez K, Roper RA, Andrews RM .
Health information technology and hospital patient safety: a conceptual model to guide research.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2013 Sep;39(9):415-25.
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Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Quality of Care, Patient Safety
Dimick J, Ruhter J, Sarrazin MV
Black patients more likely than whites to undergo surgery at low-quality hospitals in segregated regions.
The authors assessed the extent to which living in racially segregated areas and living in geographic proximity to low-quality hospitals contribute to the disparity of black patients undergoing surgery at lower-quality hospitals more frequently than whites. Using Medicare data, they found that black patients tended to live closer to higher-quality hospitals than white patients but were more likely to receive surgery at low-quality hospitals. To address these disparities, care navigators and public reporting of comparative quality could steer patients and their referring physicians to higher-quality hospitals, while quality improvement efforts could focus on improving outcomes for high-risk surgery at hospitals that disproportionately serve black patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS017765.
Citation: Dimick J, Ruhter J, Sarrazin MV .
Black patients more likely than whites to undergo surgery at low-quality hospitals in segregated regions.
Health Aff 2013 Jun;32(6):1046-53. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1365.
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Keywords: Disparities, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Surgery
Henke RM, Maeda JL, Marder WD
AHRQ Author: Friedman BS, Wong HS
Medicare and commercial inpatient resource use: impact of hospital competition.
The authors examined the influence of hospital competition on small-area inpatient resource use by payer. Using HCUP data, they found that policies or incentives that promote or encourage competition in less competitive markets may reduce variation in resource use for both Medicare and private payers.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290200600009C.
Citation: Henke RM, Maeda JL, Marder WD .
Medicare and commercial inpatient resource use: impact of hospital competition.
Am J Manag Care 2013 Jun;19(6):e238-48.
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Keywords: Healthcare Utilization, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitals, Medicare
Sokas R, Braun B, Chenven L
AHRQ Author: Hogan E
Frontline hospital workers and the worker safety/patient safety nexus.
This article reported on panels and small-group discussions from a day-long workshop held in Washington, D.C., on October 25, 2012, to explore whether and how hospital-based frontline health care workers (HCWs) affect patient safety and how they experience safety in their work settings. Conference sponsors included AHRQ, and workshop sessions focused on the intersection of worker safety and patient safety and on specific steps that health care institutions have used to implement a culture of safety in the workplace.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Sokas R, Braun B, Chenven L .
Frontline hospital workers and the worker safety/patient safety nexus.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2013 Apr;39(4):185-92.
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Keywords: Provider, Organizational Change, Patient Safety, Hospitals
Hempel S, Newberry S, Wang Z
AHRQ Author: Spector WD
Hospital fall prevention: a systematic review of implementation, components, adherence, and effectiveness.
The authors sought to document systematically the implementation, components, comparators, adherence, and effectiveness of published fall prevention approaches in U.S. acute care hospitals. They found that most interventions included multiple components, and the pooled postintervention incidence rate ratio (IRR) was 0.77. They found no systematic association between implementation intensity, intervention complexity, comparator information, or adherence levels and IRR. They concluded that promising approaches exist, but better reporting of outcomes, implementation, adherence, intervention components, and comparison group information is necessary to establish evidence on how hospitals can successfully prevent falls.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201000017I.
Citation: Hempel S, Newberry S, Wang Z .
Hospital fall prevention: a systematic review of implementation, components, adherence, and effectiveness.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2013 Apr;61(4):483-94. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12169.
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Keywords: Adverse Events, Falls, Hospitals, Patient Safety, Prevention
Rubinson L, Mutter R, Viboud C
AHRQ Author: Mutter R
Impact of the fall 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic on US hospitals.
The authors investigated the impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic on US hospitals. They found that the fall 2009 pandemic period substantially impacted US hospitals, mostly through increased emergency department visits. Furhter, for a small proportion of hospitals that experienced a high surge in inpatient admissions, increased mortality from selected clinical conditions was associated with both prepandemic outcomes and surge, highlighting the linkage between daily hospital operations and disaster preparedness.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Rubinson L, Mutter R, Viboud C .
Impact of the fall 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic on US hospitals.
Med Care 2013 Mar;51(3):259-65. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e31827da8ea.
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Keywords: Emergency Department, Emergency Preparedness, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitals, Influenza
O'Leary KJ, Devisetty VK, Patel AR
Comparison of traditional trigger tool to data warehouse based screening for identifying hospital adverse events.
This study compared a traditional trigger tool with an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) based screening method to detect hospital adverse events (AEs). The authors found relatively poor agreement between traditional trigger tool and EDW based screening with only approximately a third of all AEs detected by both methods. They recommended a combination of complementary methods as the optimal approach to detecting AEs among hospitalized patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS019630.
Citation: O'Leary KJ, Devisetty VK, Patel AR .
Comparison of traditional trigger tool to data warehouse based screening for identifying hospital adverse events.
BMJ Qual Saf 2013 Feb;22(2):130-8. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001102.
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Keywords: Adverse Events, Hospitals, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs)