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
- Antibiotics (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (6)
- Care Management (1)
- Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) (1)
- Children/Adolescents (2)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- Comparative Effectiveness (1)
- Data (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (2)
- Evidence-Based Practice (11)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (2)
- Health Systems (1)
- Heart Disease and Health (4)
- Hospitals (3)
- Implementation (1)
- Inpatient Care (1)
- Learning Health Systems (1)
- Medication (2)
- Medication: Safety (1)
- Obesity (1)
- Orthopedics (1)
- Outcomes (7)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (2)
- (-) Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (17)
- Patient and Family Engagement (1)
- Patient Safety (7)
- Prevention (1)
- Primary Care (4)
- Provider (1)
- Provider: Clinician (1)
- Provider: Physician (1)
- Provider Performance (2)
- (-) Quality Improvement (17)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (3)
- Quality Measures (4)
- Quality of Care (13)
- Research Methodologies (1)
- Surgery (8)
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (1)
- Women (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 17 of 17 Research Studies DisplayedGrant MC, Gibbons MM, Ko CY
Evidence review conducted for the AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery: focus on anesthesiology for gynecologic surgery.
This paper is an evidence review of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols for gynecologic surgery that will be used as part of AHRQ’s Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery. This initiative was developed in partnership with the American College of Surgeons and the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. The authors conducted a literature review of the various anesthesia components which may influence outcomes and facilitate recovery after gynecological surgery. They included interventions for preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of care and then summarized the best available evidence for ERAS for gynecological surgery. The best evidence was summarized for recommendations to be used in the initiative.
Citation: Grant MC, Gibbons MM, Ko CY .
Evidence review conducted for the AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery: focus on anesthesiology for gynecologic surgery.
AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Surgery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Women
Keshvani N, Berger K, Gupta A
Improving respiratory rate accuracy in the hospital: a quality improvement initiative.
Researchers initiated a quality improvement (QI) initiative in hospitals to improve respiratory rate measurement accuracy. Time-keeping devices were added to vital sign carts and patient care assistants were retrained on a newly modified workflow that included concomitant respiratory rate (RR) measurement during automated blood pressure measurement. The median RR measurement rate increased postintervention. This intervention was associated with a 7.8% reduced incidence of tachypnea-specific systemic inflammatory response syndrome. This QI initiative was interdisciplinary, low-cost, and low-tech.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Keshvani N, Berger K, Gupta A .
Improving respiratory rate accuracy in the hospital: a quality improvement initiative.
J Hosp Med 2019 Nov 1;14(10):673-77. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3232..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality Improvement, Inpatient Care, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Outcomes
White CM, Coleman CI, Jackman K
AHRQ series on improving translation of evidence: linking evidence reports and performance measures to help learning health systems use new information for improvement.
This paper analyzed ways to enhance usability of AHRQ’s Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) reports. The reports are often lengthy and difficult for users to navigate. A quality measure index was created to allow health systems to more efficiently access relevant information. A test was created where two tables were embedded in an EPC report. The first identified quality measures covered by the report descriptively. The second contained page numbers in the executive summary which hyperlinked to those pages with the quality measures. An exercise with two health system-targeted scenarios was then created. The participants were timed how long it took to find answers to scenario questions and gave feedback. It was found that it took 63.4% less time to find quality measure information with the hyperlinked indexing tables than without. The participants felt that the tables were easy to use and more user friendly to health systems.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Oct;45(10):706-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.05.002.
Citation: White CM, Coleman CI, Jackman K .
AHRQ series on improving translation of evidence: linking evidence reports and performance measures to help learning health systems use new information for improvement.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Oct;45(10):706-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.05.002..
Keywords: Implementation, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Systems, Learning Health Systems, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider Performance, Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Rogers ES, Cuthel AM, Berry CA
Clinician perspectives on the benefits of practice facilitation for small primary care practices.
This study examined the effectiveness of practice facilitation to improve cardiovascular disease in 257 small independent primary care practices (SIPs) enrolled in the AHRQ-funded EvidenceNOW initiative called HealthyHearts. These SIPs were enrolled in HealthyHearts NYC in New York City. Interviews were conducted with SIPs with 3 or fewer office staff and their answers were compared with interviews with practices with more than 3 office staff. Three facilitation benefits were found to the most important, including 1. Creating awareness of quality gaps; 2. Connecting practices to information, resources, and strategies, and; 3. Optimizing the HER for QI goals.
AHRQ-funded; HS023922.
Citation: Rogers ES, Cuthel AM, Berry CA .
Clinician perspectives on the benefits of practice facilitation for small primary care practices.
Ann Fam Med 2019 Aug 12;17(Suppl 1):S17-s23. doi: 10.1370/afm.2427..
Keywords: Primary Care, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Cardiovascular Conditions, Heart Disease and Health, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Knierim KE, Hall TL, Dickinson LM
Primary care practices' ability to report electronic clinical quality measures in the EvidenceNOW Southwest Initiative to Improve Heart Health.
The objective of this study was to determine how quickly primary care practices can report electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) and to identify the practice characteristics associated with faster reporting. Examining the EvidenceNOW Southwest initiative, the researchers’ results showed that the time to report eCQMs varied by measure and practice type, with very few practices reporting quickly. Additional support for practices to succeed in new programs that require eCQM reporting was recommended.
AHRQ-funded; HS023904.
Citation: Knierim KE, Hall TL, Dickinson LM .
Primary care practices' ability to report electronic clinical quality measures in the EvidenceNOW Southwest Initiative to Improve Heart Health.
JAMA Netw Open 2019 Aug 2;2(8):e198569. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8569..
Keywords: Primary Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Desai AD, Starmer AJ
Process metrics and outcomes to inform quality improvement in pediatric hospital medicine.
This article provides an overview of the selection, development, and use of process and outcome measures for pediatric hospital medicine quality improvement initiatives. It reviews commonly used categories of process and outcome measures, provides a list of common sources and repositories of previously validated measures, and provides a blueprint for the development of novel measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS024299.
Citation: Desai AD, Starmer AJ .
Process metrics and outcomes to inform quality improvement in pediatric hospital medicine.
Pediatr Clin North Am 2019 Aug;66(4):725-37. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2019.03.002..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Parchman ML, Anderson ML, Coleman K
Assessing quality improvement capacity in primary care practices.
The Healthy Hearts Northwest (H2N) Study is part of an AHRQ initiative to build quality improvement (QI) capacity in primary care with a focus on cardiovascular risk factors. The three main risk factors are appropriate aspirin use, blood pressure control, and tobacco screening/cessation. A practice facilitator (PF) met with clinicians and staff in the participating practices to discuss the results for each item on the Quality Improvement Capacity Assessment (QICA) scale. The score was associated with prior experience managing change and moderately associated with two of the three risk factors: aspirin use and blood pressure control. The QICA was found to be a useful assessment tool to measure QI capacity within a practice.
AHRQ-funded; HS023908.
Citation: Parchman ML, Anderson ML, Coleman K .
Assessing quality improvement capacity in primary care practices.
BMC Fam Pract 2019 Jul 25;20(1):103. doi: 10.1186/s12875-019-1000-1.
.
.
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Evidence-Based Practice, Heart Disease and Health, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Grant MC, Gibbons M M, Ko CY
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery: focus on anesthesiology for bariatric surgery.
The authors conducted an evidence review to select anesthetic interventions that positively influence outcomes and facilitate recovery after bariatric surgery. They summarize the best available evidence to recommend the anesthetic components of care for enhanced recovery after bariatric surgery. The concluded that there is evidence in the literature, and from society guidelines, to support AHRQ’s Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery goals for bariatric surgery.
AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Grant MC, Gibbons M M, Ko CY .
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery: focus on anesthesiology for bariatric surgery.
Anesth Analg 2019 Jul;129(1):51-60. doi: 10.1213/ane.0000000000003696..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Medication, Obesity, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Surgery
Hall TL, Knierim KE, Nease DE
Primary care practices' implementation of patient-team partnership: findings from EvidenceNOW Southwest.
The authors reported on practice characteristics associated with greater patient-team partnership scores. Using EvidenceNOW Southwest data, they found that practices can improve efforts to partner with patients to assess social needs, gather meaningful input on practice improvement and patient experience, and offer resource connections. These findings supplement recent evidence that patient registries and evidence-based guidelines may effectively prevent and manage cardiovascular disease.
AHRQ-funded; HS023904.
Citation: Hall TL, Knierim KE, Nease DE .
Primary care practices' implementation of patient-team partnership: findings from EvidenceNOW Southwest.
J Am Board Fam Med 2019 Jul-Aug;32(4):490-504. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2019.04.180361..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Clinician-Patient Communication, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Patient and Family Engagement, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Soffin EM, Gibbons MM, Wick EC
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for I
This evidence review was conducted as part of AHRQ’s Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery. An evidence review of interventions was conducted to create an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol for anesthesiology for hip fracture repair surgery. The researchers identified anesthesiology components of care and evaluated them across the perioperative continuum. They created ERAS protocols for the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases.
AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Soffin EM, Gibbons MM, Wick EC .
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for I
Anesth Analg 2019 Jun;128(6):1107-17. doi: 10.1213/ane.0000000000003925..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Surgery, Orthopedics, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Outcomes, Care Management
Ban KA, Gibbons MM, Ko CY
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for Improving
This evidence review was conducted for AHRQ in partnership with the American College of Surgeons and the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality who have developed the Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery (ISCR). This national effort will disseminate best practices in perioperative care to more than 750 hospitals across multiple procedures in the next 5 years. This evidence-based review is focused on improving patient safety of anesthesiology for colorectal (CR) surgery. Components reviewed included carbohydrate loading, reduced fasting, multimodal preanesthesia medicine, antibiotic prophylaxis, normothermia, blood transfusion, intraoperative fluid management/goal-directed fluid therapy, a standardized intraoperative anesthesia pathway, and standard postoperative multimodal analgesic regiments. The results of this review will be used to develop an evidence-based CR protocol for implementation.
AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Ban KA, Gibbons MM, Ko CY .
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for Improving
Anesth Analg 2019 May;128(5):879-89. doi: 10.1213/ane.0000000000003366..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Surgery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Antibiotics, Medication, Medication: Safety
Soffin EM, Gibbons MM, Ko CY
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety program for improving surgical care and recovery: focus on anesthesiology for total hip arthroplasty.
Successes using enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols for total hip arthroplasty (THA) are increasingly being reported. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in partnership with the American College of Surgeons and the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, has developed the Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery. In this study, the investigators conducted an evidence review to select anesthetic interventions that positively influence outcomes and facilitate recovery after total hip arthroplasty (THA).
AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Soffin EM, Gibbons MM, Ko CY .
Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety program for improving surgical care and recovery: focus on anesthesiology for total hip arthroplasty.
Anesth Analg 2019 Mar;128(3):454-65. doi: 10.1213/ane.0000000000003663..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Surgery, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Cykert S, DeWalt DA, Weiner BJ
A population approach using cholesterol imputation to identify adults with high cardiovascular risk: a report from AHRQ's EvidenceNow initiative.
Investigators estimated cholesterol scores for patients between the ages of 40 and 79 in large practice electronic health networks who did not have that in their electronic health record (EHR). This data was used to calculate 10-year Assessment of Cardiovascular Disease Risk (ASCVD) risk scores for patients in 219 practices. They estimated the scores using both “good value’ estimation methodology and formal imputation. The “good value” estimation methodology resulted in less patients with risk scores than imputation but it had higher specificity and a lower false positive rate.
AHRQ-funded; HS023912.
Citation: Cykert S, DeWalt DA, Weiner BJ .
A population approach using cholesterol imputation to identify adults with high cardiovascular risk: a report from AHRQ's EvidenceNow initiative.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2019 Feb;26(2):155-58. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocy151..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Heart Disease and Health, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality Improvement
Hsu YJ, Kosinski AS, Wallace AS
Using a society database to evaluate a patient safety collaborative: the Cardiovascular Surgical Translational Study.
The authors assessed the utility of using external databases for quality improvement (QI) evaluations in the context of an innovative QI collaborative aimed to reduce three infections and improve patient safety across the cardiac surgery service line. They compared changes in each outcome between 15 intervention hospitals and 52 propensity score-matched hospitals, and found that improvement trends in several outcomes among the studied intervention hospitals were not statistically different from those in comparison hospitals. They conclude that using external databases may permit comparative effectiveness assessment by providing concurrent comparison groups, additional outcome measures, and longer follow-up.
AHRQ-funded; HS019934.
Citation: Hsu YJ, Kosinski AS, Wallace AS .
Using a society database to evaluate a patient safety collaborative: the Cardiovascular Surgical Translational Study.
J Comp Eff Res 2019 Jan;8(1):21-32. doi: 10.2217/cer-2018-0051..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care, Surgery, Cardiovascular Conditions, Comparative Effectiveness, Data, Hospitals, Research Methodologies, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Shah RK, Stey AM, Jantana KR
Identification of opportunities for quality improvement and outcome measurement in pediatric otolaryngology.
This study evaluated perioperative outcomes in pediatric otolaryngology through analysis of records residing in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. It found that although the overall rate of major postoperative morbidity in pediatric otolaryngology is low, the following areas may be targeted for targeted quality-improvement interventions: tracheostomy, airway reconstruction, mastoidectomy, and abscess drainage.
AHRQ-funded; HS022932
Citation: Shah RK, Stey AM, Jantana KR .
Identification of opportunities for quality improvement and outcome measurement in pediatric otolaryngology.
JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014 Nov;140(11):1019-26. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2014.2067..
Keywords: Surgery, Children/Adolescents, Quality Improvement, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Maggard-Gibbons M
The use of report cards and outcome measurements to improve the safety of surgical care: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
This review summarized the history of American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project and its components, and described the evidence that feeding outcomes back to providers, along with real-time comparisons with other hospital rates, leads to quality improvement, better patient outcomes, cost savings and overall improved patient safety.
AHRQ-funded; 2902007100621.
Citation: Maggard-Gibbons M .
The use of report cards and outcome measurements to improve the safety of surgical care: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
BMJ Qual Saf 2014 Jul;23(7):589-99. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2013-002223..
Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Surgery, Patient Safety, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider Performance
Meddings J, Rogers MA, Krein SL
Reducing unnecessary urinary catheter use and other strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection: an integrative review.
The authors updated a prior systematic review and a meta-analysis regarding interventions prompting urinary catheter (UC) removal by reminders or stop orders. They found that UC reminders and stop orders appear to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infection rates and should be used to improve patient safety.
AHRQ-funded; 290200710062I; HS019767; HS018344.
Citation: Meddings J, Rogers MA, Krein SL .
Reducing unnecessary urinary catheter use and other strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection: an integrative review.
BMJ Qual Saf 2014 Apr;23(4):277-89. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001774.
.
.
Keywords: Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI), Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Patient Safety, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Prevention, Quality Improvement, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)