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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- (-) Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (20)
- Adverse Events (16)
- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (2)
- Blood Thinners (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Caregiving (1)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (4)
- Communication (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (3)
- Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) (2)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (1)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (11)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Implementation (1)
- (-) Medical Errors (20)
- Medication (18)
- Medication: Safety (11)
- Patient Safety (16)
- Prevention (2)
- Provider (2)
- Provider: Pharmacist (4)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Risk (1)
- Shared Decision Making (1)
- Telehealth (2)
- Transitions of Care (1)
- Transplantation (1)
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 20 of 20 Research Studies DisplayedAdams KT, Pruitt Z, Kazi S
Identifying health information technology usability issues contributing to medication errors across medication process stages.
Researchers sought to identify the types of medication errors associated with health IT use, whether they reached the patient, where in the medication process those errors occurred, and the specific usability issues contributing to those errors. They found that health IT usability issues were a prevalent contributing factor to medication errors, many of which reach the patient. They recommended that data entry, workflow support, and alerting be prioritized during usability and safety optimization efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS025136.
Citation: Adams KT, Pruitt Z, Kazi S .
Identifying health information technology usability issues contributing to medication errors across medication process stages.
J Patient Saf 2021 Dec 1;17(8):e988-e94. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000868..
Keywords: Medication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
De Oliveira GS, Castro-Alves LJ, Kendall MC
Effectiveness of pharmacist intervention to reduce medication errors and health-care resources utilization after transitions of care: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
The main objective of the current investigation was to examine the effectiveness of pharmacist-based transition-of-care interventions on the reduction of medication errors after hospital discharge. Findings showed that pharmacist transition-of-care intervention is an effective strategy to reduce medication errors after hospital discharge and also reduces subsequent emergency room visits.
AHRQ-funded; HS024158.
Citation: De Oliveira GS, Castro-Alves LJ, Kendall MC .
Effectiveness of pharmacist intervention to reduce medication errors and health-care resources utilization after transitions of care: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
J Patient Saf 2021 Aug 1;17(5):375-80. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000283..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Provider: Pharmacist, Transitions of Care
Watterson TL, Stone JA, Brown R
CancelRx: a health IT tool to reduce medication discrepancies in the outpatient setting.
Medication list discrepancies between outpatient clinics and pharmacies can lead to medication errors. Within the last decade, a new health information technology (IT), CancelRx, emerged to send a medication cancellation message from the clinic's electronic health record (EHR) to the outpatient pharmacy's software. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of CancelRx on reducing medication discrepancies between the EHR and pharmacy dispensing software.
AHRQ-funded; HS025793.
Citation: Watterson TL, Stone JA, Brown R .
CancelRx: a health IT tool to reduce medication discrepancies in the outpatient setting.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Jul 14;28(7):1526-33. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab038..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Ambulatory Care and Surgery
King CR, Abraham J, Fritz BA
Predicting self-intercepted medication ordering errors using machine learning.
Current approaches to understanding medication ordering errors rely on relatively small manually captured error samples. These approaches are resource-intensive, do not scale for computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems, and are likely to miss important risk factors associated with medication ordering errors. Previously, the investigators described a dataset of CPOE-based medication voiding accompanied by univariable and multivariable regression analyses. In this paper, they updated the analysis using machine learning (ML) models to predict erroneous medication orders and identify its contributing factors.
AHRQ-funded; HS025443.
Citation: King CR, Abraham J, Fritz BA .
Predicting self-intercepted medication ordering errors using machine learning.
PLoS One 2021 Jul 14;16(7):e0254358. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254358..
Keywords: Medication, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Stolldorf DP, Ridner SH, Vogus TJ
Implementation strategies in the context of medication reconciliation: a qualitative study.
Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is an important patient safety initiative that aims to prevent patient harm from medication errors. Yet, the implementation and sustainability of MedRec interventions have been challenging due to contextual barriers like the lack of interprofessional communication (among pharmacists, nurses, and providers) and limited organizational capacity. Guided by the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) taxonomy, the authors report the differing strategies hospital implementation teams used to implement an evidence-based MedRec Toolkit (the MARQUIS Toolkit).
AHRQ-funded; HS025486.
Citation: Stolldorf DP, Ridner SH, Vogus TJ .
Implementation strategies in the context of medication reconciliation: a qualitative study.
Implement Sci Commun 2021 Jun 10;2(1):63. doi: 10.1186/s43058-021-00162-5..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Implementation, Communication
Barwise A, Leppin A, Dong Y
What contributes to diagnostic error or delay? A qualitative exploration across diverse acute care settings in the United States.
This study was part of a mixed-methods approach to understand the organizational, clinician, and patient factors contributing to diagnostic error and delay among acutely ill patients within a health system. Findings showed that clinicians perceived that diverse organizational, communication and coordination, individual clinician, and patient factors interact to impede the process of making timely and accurate diagnoses. This study highlights the complex sociotechnical system within which individual clinicians operate and the contributions of systems, processes, and institutional factors to diagnostic error and delay.
AHRQ-funded; HS026609.
Citation: Barwise A, Leppin A, Dong Y .
What contributes to diagnostic error or delay? A qualitative exploration across diverse acute care settings in the United States.
J Patient Saf 2021 Jun 1;17(4):239-48. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000817..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE)
Gonzales HM, Fleming JN, Gebregziabher M
Pharmacist-led mobile health intervention and transplant medication safety: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of improving medication safety through a pharmacist-led, mobile health-based intervention. In this single-center study of adult kidney recipients 6-36 months post-transplant, findings showed that participants receiving the intervention experienced a significant reduction in medication errors and a significantly lower incidence risk of Grade 3 or higher adverse events. The intervention arm also demonstrated significantly lower rates of hospitalizations.
AHRQ-funded; HS023754.
Citation: Gonzales HM, Fleming JN, Gebregziabher M .
Pharmacist-led mobile health intervention and transplant medication safety: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2021 May 8;16(5):776-84. doi: 10.2215/cjn.15911020..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Transplantation, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events
Feng Y, Pai CW, Seiler K
Adverse outcomes associated with inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant starter pack prescription among patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective claims-based study.
This retrospective analysis investigated the risk for bleeding events with higher dosing of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) in the first 1-3 weeks of treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Findings showed that patients who received an inappropriate DOAC prescription were more likely to identify as Black. Rates of ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths overall were numerically lower in patients with starter pack DOAC prescriptions. In contrast, rates of ED visits and hospitalizations related to significant bleeding were numerically higher in patients with starter pack DOAC prescriptions. Among patients with AF but without acute venous thromboembolism, those who received an inappropriate DOAC starter pack had numerically higher rates of severe bleeding leading to ED visits and hospitalizations compared to those prescribed an appropriate non-starter pack DOAC anticoagulant.
AHRQ-funded; HS026874.
Citation: Feng Y, Pai CW, Seiler K .
Adverse outcomes associated with inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant starter pack prescription among patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective claims-based study.
J Thromb Thrombolysis 2021 May;51(4):1144-49. doi: 10.1007/s11239-020-02358-3..
Keywords: Blood Thinners, Medication, Medication: Safety, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions
Kane-Gill SL, Wong A, Culley CM
JA, et al. Transforming the medication regimen review process using telemedicine to prevent adverse events.
The objective of this study was to determine the impact of pharmacist-led telemedicine services on reducing high-risk medication adverse drug events (ADEs) for nursing home (NH) residents using medication reconciliation and prospective medication regimen reviews (MRRs) on admission plus ongoing clinical decision support alerts throughout the residents' stay. Studying residents in four NHs in Southwestern Pennsylvania, findings showed that the intervention group had a 92% lower incidence of alert-specific ADEs than usual care, and all-cause hospitalization was similar between groups, as were 30-day readmissions.
AHRQ-funded; HS02420.
Citation: Kane-Gill SL, Wong A, Culley CM .
JA, et al. Transforming the medication regimen review process using telemedicine to prevent adverse events.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2021 Feb;69(2):530-38. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16946..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Prevention
Abraham J, Galanter WL, Touchette D
Risk factors associated with medication ordering errors.
This study’s goal was to collect data on “voided” orders in computerized order entry systems for medication to 1) identify the nature and characteristics of medication ordering errors; 2) investigate the risk factors associated with these errors and; 3) explore potential strategies to mitigate these risk factors. Data was collected using clinician interviews and surveys within 24 hours of the voided order and using chart reviews. During the 16-month study period 1074 medication orders were voided, with 842 being true medication errors. A total of 22% reached the patient, with at least a single administration, but without causing patient harm. Interviews were conducted on 355 voided orders (33%). Errors were associated with multiple factors not just a single risk factor. The causal contributors included a combination of technological-, cognitive-, environment-, social-, and organization-level factors.
AHRQ-funded; HS025443.
Citation: Abraham J, Galanter WL, Touchette D .
Risk factors associated with medication ordering errors.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Jan 15;28(1):86-94. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa264..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Medication: Safety, Medication, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Risk, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Cox ED, Hansen K, Rajamanickam VP
Are parents who feel the need to watch over their children's care better patient safety partners?
In this study, the investigators assessed whether needing to watch over care predicted parent performance of recommended safety behaviors to reduce medication errors and health care-associated infections. The researchers concluded that parents who reported the need to watch over care were more likely to perform behaviors specific to safe medication use (but not hand hygiene) compared with those not reporting this need.
AHRQ-funded; HS018680.
Citation: Cox ED, Hansen K, Rajamanickam VP .
Are parents who feel the need to watch over their children's care better patient safety partners?
Hosp Pediatr 2017 Dec;7(12):716-22. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2017-0036..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Caregiving, Children/Adolescents, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety
Miller GE, Sarpong EM, Davidoff AJ
AHRQ Author: Miller GE, Sarpong EM
Determinants of potentially inappropriate medication use among community-dwelling older adults.
The researchers examined the determinants of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use. The multivariate results suggest that poor health status and high-PIM-risk conditions were associated with increased PIM use, while increasing age and educational attainment were associated with lower PIM use. Contrary to expectations, lack of a usual care source of care or supplemental insurance was associated with lower PIM use
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Miller GE, Sarpong EM, Davidoff AJ .
Determinants of potentially inappropriate medication use among community-dwelling older adults.
Health Serv Res 2017 Aug;52(4):1534-49. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12562.
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Keywords: Medication, Elderly, Medication: Safety, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Medical Errors
Fong A, Harriott N, Walters DM
Integrating natural language processing expertise with patient safety event review committees to improve the analysis of medication events.
Natural language processing (NLP) experts collaborated with clinical experts on a patient safety committee to assist in the identification and analysis of medication-related patient safety events. Four types of medication-related patient safety events were identified, and the models were compared. The authors demonstrated the capabilities of various NLP models and the use of two text inclusion strategies at categorizing medication-related patient safety events. They suggested that the NLP models and visualization could be used to improve the efficiency of patient safety event data review and analysis.
AHRQ-funded; HS023701.
Citation: Fong A, Harriott N, Walters DM .
Integrating natural language processing expertise with patient safety event review committees to improve the analysis of medication events.
Int J Med Inform 2017 Aug;104:120-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2017.05.005.
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Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety
Schroeder SR, Salomon MM, Galanter WL
Cognitive tests predict real-world errors: the relationship between drug name confusion rates in laboratory-based memory and perception tests and corresponding error rates in large pharmacy chains.
The researchers conducted a study to assess the association between error rates in laboratory-based tests of drug name memory and perception and real-world drug name confusion error rates. They found that across two distinct pharmacy chains, there is a strong and significant association between drug name confusion error rates observed in the real world and those observed in laboratory-based tests of memory and perception.
AHRQ-funded; HS021093.
Citation: Schroeder SR, Salomon MM, Galanter WL .
Cognitive tests predict real-world errors: the relationship between drug name confusion rates in laboratory-based memory and perception tests and corresponding error rates in large pharmacy chains.
BMJ Qual Saf 2017 May;26(5):395-407. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-005099.
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Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Medical Errors, Medication: Safety, Medication, Provider: Pharmacist
Walsh KE, Harik P, Mazor KM
Measuring harm in health care: optimizing adverse event review.
The objective of this study was to identify modifiable factors that improve the reliability of ratings of severity of health care-associated harm in clinical practice improvement and research. Using a generalizability theory framework to estimate the impact of number of raters, rater experience, and rater provider type on reliability, the researchers found that reliability was greatly improved with 2 reviewers.
AHRQ-funded; 290201000022I.
Citation: Walsh KE, Harik P, Mazor KM .
Measuring harm in health care: optimizing adverse event review.
Med Care 2017 Apr;55(4):436-41. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000679.
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Keywords: Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Quality Improvement, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Patient Safety
Horsky J, Aarts J, Verheul L
Clinical reasoning in the context of active decision support during medication prescribing.
The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze reasoning patterns of clinicians responding to drug-drug interaction alerts in order to understand the role of patient-specific information in the decision-making process about the risks and benefits of medication therapy. The investigators found that declining an alert suggestion was preceded by sometimes brief but often complex reasoning, prioritizing different aspects of care quality and safety, especially when the perceived risk was higher.
AHRQ-funded; HS021094.
Citation: Horsky J, Aarts J, Verheul L .
Clinical reasoning in the context of active decision support during medication prescribing.
Int J Med Inform 2017 Jan;97:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.09.004..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety
Ranji SR, Rennke S, Wachter RM
Computerised provider order entry combined with clinical decision support systems to improve medication safety: a narrative review.
The authors searched AHRQ's Patient Safety Net to identify reviews of the effect of computerised provider order entry (CPOE) combined with clinical decision support systems (CDSS) on adverse drug event (ADE) rates in inpatient and outpatient settings. They found that CPOE+CDSS was consistently reported to reduce prescribing errors, but does not appear to prevent clinical ADEs in either the inpatient or outpatient setting. Implementation of CPOE+CDSS profoundly changes staff workflow, often leading to unintended consequences and new safety issues (such as alert fatigue) which limit the system's safety effects.
AHRQ-funded; 2902007100621.
Citation: Ranji SR, Rennke S, Wachter RM .
Computerised provider order entry combined with clinical decision support systems to improve medication safety: a narrative review.
BMJ Qual Saf 2014 Sep;23(9):773-80. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2013-002165.
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Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication, Patient Safety
Pohl JM, Tanner C, Hamilton A
Medication safety after implementation of a commercial electronic health record system in five safety-net practices: a mixed methods approach.
This study, conducted in five safety-net practices, examined the impact of implementing a commercial electronic health records system on medication safety. The authors found 130 "true" drug-drug interaction (DDI) pairs, representing 149,087 visits and 62 providers, with the largest DDI categories being related to antihypertensive medications, which are often prescribed together. They found no significant differences between physicians and nurse practitioners on the rate of DDI pairs.
AHRQ-funded; HS017191.
Citation: Pohl JM, Tanner C, Hamilton A .
Medication safety after implementation of a commercial electronic health record system in five safety-net practices: a mixed methods approach.
J Am Assoc Nurse Pract 2014 Aug;26(8):438-44. doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12089.
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Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety
Galanter WL, Bryson ML, Falck S
Indication alerts intercept drug name confusion errors during computerized entry of medication orders.
The authors measured whether indication alerts at the time of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) can intercept drug name confusion errors. They found that indication alerts intercepted 1.4 drug name confusion errors per 1000 alerts and recommended that institutions with CPOE consider using indication prompts to intercept drug name confusion errors.
AHRQ-funded; HS021093.
Citation: Galanter WL, Bryson ML, Falck S .
Indication alerts intercept drug name confusion errors during computerized entry of medication orders.
PLoS One 2014 Jul 15;9(7):e101977. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101977.
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Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication, Patient Safety
Forrester SH, Hepp Z, Roth JA
Cost-effectiveness of a computerized provider order entry system in improving medication safety ambulatory care.
The study objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of computerized provider order entry versus traditional paper-based prescribing in reducing medications errors and adverse drug events in the ambulatory setting of mid-sized medical group. Using a decision-analytic model, the researchers found that the adoption of CPOE in the ambulatory setting provides excellent value for the investment.
AHRQ-funded; HS014739
Citation: Forrester SH, Hepp Z, Roth JA .
Cost-effectiveness of a computerized provider order entry system in improving medication safety ambulatory care.
Value Health. 2014 Jun;17(4):340-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2014.01.009..
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety, Healthcare Costs, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Prevention