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
- Adverse Events (3)
- Care Coordination (3)
- Children/Adolescents (2)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Communication (3)
- Education: Patient and Caregiver (1)
- Elderly (3)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (2)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (2)
- Health Literacy (2)
- Home Healthcare (1)
- (-) Hospital Discharge (12)
- Hospitalization (2)
- Hospital Readmissions (1)
- Hospitals (5)
- Injuries and Wounds (1)
- Inpatient Care (1)
- Long-Term Care (1)
- Medical Errors (1)
- Medical Liability (1)
- Medication (3)
- Medication: Safety (1)
- Nursing Homes (2)
- (-) Patient Safety (12)
- Provider: Pharmacist (1)
- Risk (1)
- Surgery (1)
- Transitions of Care (5)
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 12 of 12 Research Studies DisplayedArbaje AI, Werner NE, Kasda EM
Learning from lawsuits: using malpractice claims data to develop care transitions planning tools.
This study used malpractice claims data to evaluate safety risks during care transitions from hospital to home and to help develop care transitions planning tools and pilot test them. The authors analyzed closed malpractice claims for 230 adult patients discharged from 4 hospital sites. Two structured focus groups were also conducted for stakeholders to review concerns. This led to the development of two care transitions planning tools – one for patients/caregivers and one for healthcare providers. Feasibility on 53 patient discharges were tested for both tools. A total of 33 risk factors corresponding to hospital work system elements, care transitions processes, and care outcomes were found using qualitative analysis. Providers found the tool easy to use and patients felt the length and response of the tool was acceptable.
AHRQ-funded; HS022916; HS019519.
Citation: Arbaje AI, Werner NE, Kasda EM .
Learning from lawsuits: using malpractice claims data to develop care transitions planning tools.
J Patient Saf 2020 Mar;16(1):52-57. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000238.
.
.
Keywords: Medical Liability, Transitions of Care, Risk, Hospital Discharge, Hospitals, Patient Safety
Hoffman GJ, Min LC, Liu H
Role of post-acute care in readmissions for preexisting healthcare-associated infections.
Researchers examined the risk of preexisting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) readmissions according to patient discharge disposition and comorbidity level. They found that skilled nursing facility discharges were associated with fewer avoidable readmissions for preexisting HAIs compared with home discharges. They recommended further research to identify modifiable mechanisms to improve posthospital infection care at home.
AHRQ-funded; HS025838; HS025451.
Citation: Hoffman GJ, Min LC, Liu H .
Role of post-acute care in readmissions for preexisting healthcare-associated infections.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2020 Feb;68(2):370-78. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16208..
Keywords: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospital Readmissions, Hospital Discharge, Hospitals, Patient Safety, Elderly
Kapoor A, Field T, Handler S
Adverse events in long-term care residents transitioning from hospital back to nursing home.
This study looked at adverse event rates of long-term care residents transitioning back to their nursing home after hospitalization. A prospective cohort study of LTC residents discharged from hospital back to LTC from March 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017 was conducted, and residents were followed up for 45 days. A random sample of 32 nursing homes located in 6 New England states was used, and 555 LTC residents were selected, contributing 762 transitions from hospital back to the same LTC facility. Most of the cohort were female (65.5%) and non-Hispanic white (93.7%). The study used trained nurse abstractors to review nursing home records to determine if an adverse event occurred. Out of 762 discharges there were 379 adverse events. The most common adverse events were pressure ulcers, skin tears, and falls followed by health care-acquired infections. 145 adverse events were considered less serious, with 28 life-threatening, and 8 were fatal. Most of the adverse events were considered preventable or ameliorable.
AHRQ-funded; HS024596.
Citation: Kapoor A, Field T, Handler S .
Adverse events in long-term care residents transitioning from hospital back to nursing home.
JAMA Intern Med 2019 Sep;179(9):1254-61. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.2005..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Transitions of Care, Elderly, Patient Safety, Hospital Discharge, Hospitalization
Campbell Britton M, Hodshon B, Chaudhry SI
Implementing a warm handoff between hospital and skilled nursing facility clinicians.
This study focused on increasing better communication during transfers from hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Warm handoffs between hospital and SNF physicians was implemented. Participation in warm handoffs gradually increased – starting at 15.78% in stage 1 and increasing to 46.89% in stage 3. A total of 2417 patient discharges were included in this study.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Campbell Britton M, Hodshon B, Chaudhry SI .
Implementing a warm handoff between hospital and skilled nursing facility clinicians.
J Patient Saf 2019 Sep;15(3):198-204. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000529..
Keywords: Communication, Patient Safety, Hospital Discharge, Transitions of Care, Care Coordination, Hospitals, Nursing Homes
Auger KA, Shah SS, Davis MM
Counting the ways to count medications: the challenges of defining pediatric polypharmacy.
Polypharmacy, the practice of taking multiple medications to manage health conditions, is common for children. Polypharmacy has been linked to a variety of pediatric and adult outcomes, including medication errors and readmission. In this paper, the authors sought consensus on how to count discharge medications through a series of informal interviews with hospitalists, nurses, and parents.
AHRQ-funded; HS024735.
Citation: Auger KA, Shah SS, Davis MM .
Counting the ways to count medications: the challenges of defining pediatric polypharmacy.
J Hosp Med 2019 Aug;14(8):506-07. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3213..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Hospital Discharge, Hospitals
Glick AF, Brach C, Yin HS
AHRQ Author: Brach C
Health literacy in the inpatient setting: implications for patient care and patient safety.
This article considers how health literacy plays a part in events that lead up to children's hospitalizations both during hospital admission and after discharge. The authors discussed interventions that incorporate health-literacy-informed strategies and that target patients, families, and health care systems that should be implemented to improve patient outcomes and patient-centered and family-centered care.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Glick AF, Brach C, Yin HS .
Health literacy in the inpatient setting: implications for patient care and patient safety.
Pediatr Clin North Am 2019 Aug;66(4):805-26. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2019.03.007..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Health Literacy, Hospital Discharge, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Patient Safety
Wyatt DL
AHRQ Author: Wyatt DL
Employing technology to make care transitions safer.
This commentary discusses the potential for errors in patient handoffs; important information about medications and instructions regarding patient care may be overlooked when the patient is referred to special care, moved to a new hospital setting, or discharged. The problem is especially acute for patients with multiple chronic conditions who often undergo frequent transitions to new care settings and healthcare providers. The author describes AHRQ’s funding opportunities for health information technology interventions that aim to improve communication and coordination during care transitions, such as location-based smartphone alerts, a patient-centered discharge toolkit, and a ‘smart pillbox’ electronic medication adherence reporting project.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Wyatt DL .
Employing technology to make care transitions safer.
J Nurs Care Qual 2019 Jul/Sep;34(3):185-88. doi: 10.1097/ncq.0000000000000417..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Care Coordination, Chronic Conditions, Communication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery, Hospital Discharge, Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety, Transitions of Care
Arbaje AI, Hughes A, Werner N
Information management goals and process failures during home visits for middle-aged and older adults receiving skilled home healthcare services after hospital discharge: a multisite, qualitative study.
The goal of this study was to identify information management (IM) process failures made during home health visits to middle-aged and older adults after hospital discharge. Communication risks included information overload, information underload, information scatter, information conflict, and erroneous information.
AHRQ-funded; HS022916.
Citation: Arbaje AI, Hughes A, Werner N .
Information management goals and process failures during home visits for middle-aged and older adults receiving skilled home healthcare services after hospital discharge: a multisite, qualitative study.
BMJ Qual Saf 2019 Feb;28(2):111-20. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2018-008163..
Keywords: Elderly, Home Healthcare, Hospital Discharge, Patient Safety, Transitions of Care
Wiseman JT, Fernandes-Taylor S, Barnes ML
Predictors of surgical site infection after hospital discharge in patients undergoing major vascular surgery.
This study explored the factors that lead to postdischarge surgical site infections (SSI), investigated the differences between risk factors for in-hospital vs postdischarge SSI, and developed a scoring system to identify patients who might benefit from postdischarge monitoring of their wounds. In a comparative analysis, it found that comorbidities were the primary driver of postdischarge SSI, whereas in-hospital factors (operative time, emergency case status) and complications predicted in-hospital SSI.
AHRQ-funded; HS023395.
Citation: Wiseman JT, Fernandes-Taylor S, Barnes ML .
Predictors of surgical site infection after hospital discharge in patients undergoing major vascular surgery.
J Vasc Surg 2015 Oct;62(4):1023-31.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2015.04.453..
Keywords: Surgery, Hospital Discharge, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Patient Safety, Injuries and Wounds, Adverse Events
Kennelty KA, Chewning B, Wise M
Barriers and facilitators of medication reconciliation processes for recently discharged patients from community pharmacists' perspectives.
The objectives of this study were to: 1) examine the barriers and facilitators community pharmacists face when reconciling medications for recently discharged patients; and 2) identify pharmacists’ preferred content and modes of information transfer regarding updated medication information for recently discharged patients. It found that major individual-level factors affecting the medication reconciliation process included: pharmacists’ perceived responsibility, relationships, patient perception of pharmacist, and patient characteristics.
AHRQ-funded; HS021984.
Citation: Kennelty KA, Chewning B, Wise M .
Barriers and facilitators of medication reconciliation processes for recently discharged patients from community pharmacists' perspectives.
Res Social Adm Pharm 2015 Jul-Aug;11(4):517-30. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2014.10.008..
Keywords: Hospital Discharge, Medication, Patient Safety, Provider: Pharmacist
Mueller SK, Giannelli K, Boxer R
Readability of patient discharge instructions with and without the use of electronically available disease-specific templates.
The investigators examined the impact of the use of electronic, patient-friendly, templated discharge instructions on the readability of discharge instructions provided to patients at discharge. They concluded that the use of electronically available templated discharge instructions may be a viable option to improve the readability of written material provided to patients at discharge, although the library of available templates requires expansion.
AHRQ-funded; HS023331.
Citation: Mueller SK, Giannelli K, Boxer R .
Readability of patient discharge instructions with and without the use of electronically available disease-specific templates.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2015 Jul;22(4):857-63. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocv005.
.
.
Keywords: Education: Patient and Caregiver, Health Literacy, Hospital Discharge, Patient Safety
Liao JM, Roy CL, Eibensteiner K
Lost in transition: discrepancies in how physicians perceive the actionability of the results of tests pending at discharge.
Effective communication of pending hospital test results between inpatient and primary care physicians is sometimes challenging or nonexistent. This communication is essential for safe, quality transactions at discharge. Health information technology (such as email and fax) is an effective strategy for improving and reporting test-result management.
AHRQ-funded; HS018229
Citation: Liao JM, Roy CL, Eibensteiner K .
Lost in transition: discrepancies in how physicians perceive the actionability of the results of tests pending at discharge.
J Hospital Med. 2014 Jun;9(6):407-9. doi: 10.1002/jhm.2177..
Keywords: Communication, Care Coordination, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospital Discharge, Patient Safety