National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Topics
- Burnout (6)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (1)
- Communication (2)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (1)
- COVID-19 (1)
- Decision Making (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (3)
- Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) (1)
- Emergency Department (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
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- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Hospitals (1)
- Imaging (1)
- Long-Term Care (1)
- Medicare (1)
- Medication (1)
- Medication: Safety (1)
- Nursing Homes (1)
- Organizational Change (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient and Family Engagement (1)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (2)
- Policy (2)
- Practice Improvement (1)
- Primary Care (5)
- Primary Care: Models of Care (1)
- Provider (8)
- (-) Provider: Clinician (18)
- Provider: Health Personnel (1)
- Provider: Nurse (7)
- Provider: Physician (10)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality of Care (2)
- Risk (2)
- Sickle Cell Disease (1)
- Simulation (1)
- Social Determinants of Health (2)
- Stress (1)
- Training (1)
- Transitions of Care (1)
- Urban Health (1)
- Workforce (3)
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 18 of 18 Research Studies DisplayedGallo T, Heise CW, Woosley RL
Clinician satisfaction with advanced clinical decision support to reduce the risk of torsades de pointes.
The purpose of this study was to create an advanced torsades de pointes (TdP) clinical decision support (CDS) advisory that provides relevant, patient-specific information, including 1-click management options, and to evaluate clinician satisfaction with the CDS. The researchers implemented the advanced TdP CDS across a health system comprising 29 hospitals. A brief electronic survey was developed to collect clinician feedback on the advisory and was emailed to 442 clinicians who received the advisory. Feedback was generally positive across the 38 responding providers, with 79% of respondents reporting that the advisory assisted with their care for their patients and 87% responding that the alerts clearly specified alternative actions. The researchers concluded that providers who receive an advanced TdP risk CDS alert generally view the alert favorably.
AHRQ-funded; HS026662.
Citation: Gallo T, Heise CW, Woosley RL .
Clinician satisfaction with advanced clinical decision support to reduce the risk of torsades de pointes.
J Patient Saf 2022 Sep 1;18(6):e1010-e13. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000996..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Decision Making, Risk, Provider: Clinician, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions
Fraze TK, Beidler LB, Gottlieb LM
A missed opportunity? How health care organizations engage primary care clinicians in formal social care efforts.
The purpose of this study was to explore how health care organizations include clinicians in formal social care efforts. Administrators of 29 health care organizations participated in 33 semi-structured interviews in 2019. Administrators were hesitant to increase primary care providers' responsibilities with social care activities, but believed clinicians could engage in social care programs in 4 ways: 1) Strengthen relationships with patients by discussing social risks; 2) adjust follow-up clinical care plans based on social risks; 3) adapt prescriptions based on social risks; and (4) refer patients to other care team members who can directly assist with social risks.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Fraze TK, Beidler LB, Gottlieb LM .
A missed opportunity? How health care organizations engage primary care clinicians in formal social care efforts.
Popul Health Manag 2022 Aug;25(4):509-16. doi: 10.1089/pop.2021.0306..
Keywords: Primary Care, Provider: Clinician, Social Determinants of Health
Williams JP, Nathanson R, LoPresti CM
Current use, training, and barriers in point-of-care ultrasound in hospital medicine: a national survey of VA hospitals.
This study aimed to characterize current point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use, training needs, and barriers to use among hospital medicine groups (HMGs). This prospective observation study looked at all Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers from August 2019 to March 2020 using a web-based survey sent to all chiefs of HMGs. There was a 90% response rate from 117 HMGs. Procedural POCUS use decreased by 19% from 2015 to 2020 but increased for diagnostic use for cardiac (8%), pulmonary (7%), and abdominal (8%) applications. The most common barrier to POCUS use was lack of training (89%), with only 34% of HMGs having access to POCUS training. Access to ultrasound equipment was the least common barrier at 57%, however with the proportion of HMGs with ≥1 ultrasound machine increasing from 29% to 71% from 2015 to 2020. In 2020 an average of 3.6 ultrasound devices per HMG was available, and 45% were handheld devices.
AHRQ-funded; HS025979.
Citation: Williams JP, Nathanson R, LoPresti CM .
Current use, training, and barriers in point-of-care ultrasound in hospital medicine: a national survey of VA hospitals.
J Hosp Med 2022 Aug;17(8):601-08. doi: 10.1002/jhm.12911..
Keywords: Imaging, Training, Hospitals, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Provider: Clinician
Evans LV, Ray JM, Bonz JW
Improving patient and clinician safety during COVID-19 through rapidly adaptive simulation and a randomised controlled trial: a study protocol.
The purpose of this study will be to simultaneously assess the challenges and facilitators of COVID-19 preparedness in the emergency department (ED) and the mitigation of emergency physician stress, test the effectiveness of a simulation preparedness intervention on physician physiological stress, and improve physician preparedness while decreasing physician stress and anxiety.
AHRQ-funded; HS028340.
Citation: Evans LV, Ray JM, Bonz JW .
Improving patient and clinician safety during COVID-19 through rapidly adaptive simulation and a randomised controlled trial: a study protocol.
BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e058980. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058980..
Keywords: COVID-19, Patient Safety, Simulation, Burnout, Provider: Clinician
Smith LB
The effect of nurse practitioner scope of practice laws on primary care delivery.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are an increasingly integral part of the primary care workforce. NPs' authority to practice without physician oversight is regulated by state-level scope of practice (SOP) restrictions. To the extent that SOP restrictions prevent NPs from practicing to their full abilities and capacity, they could create inefficiencies and restrict access to health care. The purpose of this paper was to explore what occurs at primary care practices when states ease their scope of practice (SOP) laws. The researcher utilized a novel dataset of claims and electronic health records to quantify the effects of easing SOP laws in 3 areas: 1. Nurse Practitioners' autonomy in their everyday jobs; 2. Total workload and the allocation of patients between physicians and NPs; and 3. The delivery of low-value services at primary care practices. The study found no evidence that easing SOP laws impacts neither the volume or allocation of patients to NPs, nor the delivery of low-value services.
AHRQ-funded; HS026659.
Citation: Smith LB .
The effect of nurse practitioner scope of practice laws on primary care delivery.
Health Econ 2022 Jan; 31(1):21-41. doi: 10.1002/hec.4438..
Keywords: Primary Care, Healthcare Delivery, Policy, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse
Goodwin JS, Agrawal P, Li S
Growth of physicians and nurse practitioners practicing full time in nursing homes.
This retrospective cohort study examined the growth of physicians and nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) who work full time in nursing homes, and to assess resident and nursing home characteristics associated with receiving care from full-time providers. Researchers looked at a 20% national sample of Medicare data on long-term care residents in 2008 and 2018 and the physicians, NPs, and PAs who submitted charges for services rendered in nursing homes. Full-time nursing home providers increased from 26% in 2008 to 44.6% in 2017. The largest increase from 2008 to 2017 was in NPs with 1986 total in 2008 increasing 44.6% in 2017. Residents with an NP primary care provider were 23 times more likely to have a full-time provider. Residents who received care from both a physician and an NP or PA increased from 33.5% in 2008 to 62.5% in 2018. There was large variation in the percentage of residents with full-time providers, with 5.72% of residents in the bottom quintile of facilities to 91.4% in the top quintile.
AHRQ-funded; HS020642.
Citation: Goodwin JS, Agrawal P, Li S .
Growth of physicians and nurse practitioners practicing full time in nursing homes.
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2021 Dec;22(12):2534-39.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.06.019..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider: Nurse, Workforce
Enayat M, Farahani NZ, Chaudhry AP
Incorporating RTLS-based spatiotemporal information in studying physical activities of clinical staff.
This research used Real-Time location systems (RTLS) to study the amount of physical activity exerted by physicians, residents, nurses, and staff in the emergency department (ED). The goal of this research is to examine how low and high physical activity can affect the physical and mental health of clinicians, which can lead to fatigue and burnout. The authors used one year worth of raw RFID data that covers the movement records of 38 physicians, 13 residents, 163 nurses, and 33 staff in the ED. They compared results to the values reported in the literature and showed despite the low spatial resolution of RTLS, their non-invasive estimations were closely comparable to the ones measured by Fitbit or other wearable pedometers.
AHRQ-funded; HS026622.
Citation: Enayat M, Farahani NZ, Chaudhry AP .
Incorporating RTLS-based spatiotemporal information in studying physical activities of clinical staff.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2021 Nov;2021:2386-91. doi: 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9630597..
Keywords: Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Stress, Burnout
Kandrack R, Barnes H, Martsolf GR
Nurse practitioner scope of practice regulations and nurse practitioner supply.
This study’s objective was to estimate associations between adopting full nurse practitioner (NP) scope of practice (SOP) and improved access to care. The authors used county-level data to estimate the association between adopting full NP SOP and NP supply in general, and in rural and health professional shortage area-designed counties specifically. They estimated positive associations, although the relationship was only statistically significant in health professional shortage areas.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Kandrack R, Barnes H, Martsolf GR .
Nurse practitioner scope of practice regulations and nurse practitioner supply.
Med Care Res Rev 2021 Jun;78(3):208-17. doi: 10.1177/1077558719888424..
Keywords: Provider: Nurse, Provider: Clinician, Workforce, Policy
Goldberg DG, Soylu TG, Kitsantas P
Burnout among primary care providers and staff: evaluating the association with practice adaptive reserve and individual behaviors.
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between practice adaptive reserve (PAR) and individual behavioral response to change and burnout among healthcare professionals in primary care. Using data from the EvidenceNOW Heart of Virginia Healthcare initiative, the study’s findings showed that, as organizational capacity for change increased, burnout in healthcare professionals decreased by 51%. As healthcare professionals showed improved response toward change, burnout decreased by 84%. Increased hours of work per week was associated with higher odds of burnout across healthcare professional groups.
AHRQ-funded; HS023913.
Citation: Goldberg DG, Soylu TG, Kitsantas P .
Burnout among primary care providers and staff: evaluating the association with practice adaptive reserve and individual behaviors.
J Gen Intern Med 2021 May;36(5):1222-28. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06367-z..
Keywords: Burnout, Primary Care, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider
Kandaswamy S, Pruitt Z, Kazi S
Clinician perceptions on the use of free-text communication orders.
The aim of this study was to investigate (1) why ordering clinicians use free-text orders to communicate medication information; (2) what risks physicians and nurses perceive when free-text orders are used for communicating medication information; and (3) how electronic health records (EHRs) could be improved to encourage the safe communication of medication information. The investigators concluded that clinicians' use of free-text orders as a workaround to insufficient structured order entry can create unintended patient safety risks.
AHRQ-funded; HS025136; HS024755.
Citation: Kandaswamy S, Pruitt Z, Kazi S .
Clinician perceptions on the use of free-text communication orders.
Appl Clin Inform 2021 May;12(3):484-94. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1731002..
Keywords: Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Communication, Provider: Clinician, Provider, Risk
Willard-Grace R, Knox M, Huang B
Primary care clinician burnout and engagement association with clinical quality and patient experience.
Burnout and engagement are commonly conceptualized as opposite ends of a spectrum, and there is concern that high clinician burnout and lack of engagement may adversely impact patient care. In this study, the investigators matched self-reported data on burnout and engagement for 182 primary care clinicians with data on clinical quality (cancer screenings, hypertension and diabetes control) and patient experience (Clinician and Group Survey-Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems [CG-CAHPS] communication scores, overall rating, and likelihood to recommend the clinic).
AHRQ-funded; HS026067.
Citation: Willard-Grace R, Knox M, Huang B .
Primary care clinician burnout and engagement association with clinical quality and patient experience.
J Am Board Fam Med 2021 May-Jun;34(3):542-52. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2021.03.200515..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Burnout, Patient Experience, Patient and Family Engagement, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Quality of Care, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Health Personnel
Dymek C, Kim B, Melton GB
AHRQ Author: Dymek C, Hsiao CJ
Building the evidence-base to reduce electronic health record-related clinician burden.
This paper looks at the evidence-base to reduce electronic health record-related (EHR-related) clinician burden. Evidence-based informatics approaches, pragmatic next steps, and future research directions are presented to improve three of the highest contributors to EHR burden: documentation, chart review, and inbox tasks. Perspectives are also offered on how EHR vendors, healthcare system leaders, and policymakers can play an integral role to make EHR easier to use.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; HS027363.
Citation: Dymek C, Kim B, Melton GB .
Building the evidence-base to reduce electronic health record-related clinician burden.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Apr 23;28(5):1057-61. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa238..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Burnout, Evidence-Based Practice, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider
Fekieta R, Rosenberg A, Jenq GY
A new tool to assess clinician experience with patient care transitions.
The authors developed a brief survey to gauge clinician experience with patient care transfers that occur within a hospital. They found that, overall, the survey was feasible to implement and was built to optimize content, construct, and response process validity. Survey results drove practical improvement work, such as informing a verbal transfer protocol to improve nursing preparedness to receive patients on general medicine units. They concluded that, as a practical tool, the survey and its results can help hospital administrators to focus on categories of transfer activities that are most problematic for clinicians and to track trends for quality improvement.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Fekieta R, Rosenberg A, Jenq GY .
A new tool to assess clinician experience with patient care transitions.
Qual Manag Health Care 2021 Apr-Jun;30(2):87-96. doi: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000290..
Keywords: Transitions of Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider: Clinician, Provider
Friese CR, Mendelsohn-Victor K, Medvec BR
Factors associated with job satisfaction in medical oncology practices: results from a multisite survey.
This is a job satisfaction survey of clinicians from 29 ambulatory medical oncology practices conducted in 2017. The survey also examined clinician-to-clinician communication, and perceptions of patient safety. Of the 280 clinicians who responded, 85% reported that they were very satisfied or satisfied with their current position. Patient safety and accuracy of clinician communication were positively associated with job satisfaction.
AHRQ-funded; HS024914.
Citation: Friese CR, Mendelsohn-Victor K, Medvec BR .
Factors associated with job satisfaction in medical oncology practices: results from a multisite survey.
J Nurs Adm 2021 Apr;51(4):200-05. doi: 10.1097/nna.0000000000000998..
Keywords: Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Communication
Gettel CJ, Canavan ME, D'Onofrio G
Who provides what care? An analysis of clinical focus among the national emergency care workforce.
This study looked at the clinical focus of emergency department (ED) workers using the 2017 Medicare Public Use Files for clinicians receiving reimbursement for emergency care Evaluation & Management (E/M) services for Medicare fee-for-service Part B. Clinicians were categorized as EM physicians, non-EM physicians, and advanced practice providers (APPs). Of the 65,710 unique clinicians providing care, 59.4% were classified as EM physicians, 12.4% as non-EM physicians, and 28.5% as APPs. EM physicians have twice as much clinician median focus in comparison to EM physicians providing emergency care (92.8% vs 45.2) and APPs are focused 100%.
AHRQ-funded; HS023614.
Citation: Gettel CJ, Canavan ME, D'Onofrio G .
Who provides what care? An analysis of clinical focus among the national emergency care workforce.
Am J Emerg Med 2021 Apr;42:228-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2020.11.069..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider, Medicare
Loo S, Brochier A, Wexler MG
Addressing unmet basic needs for children with sickle cell disease in the United States: clinic and staff perspectives.
The purpose of this study was to assess pediatric hematology clinic staff's perspectives regarding barriers and facilitators in addressing unmet basic needs for children with sickle cell disease. Six focus groups were held at urban pediatric hematology clinics in the Northeastern region of the U.S. Four themes emerged: families of children with SCD have numerous unmet basic needs; clinic staff felt they had a role to play in addressing these needs; staff felt their ability to address these needs depended upon caregivers' capacity to act on staff recommendations; clinic staff's ability to address these needs was limited by organizational and systemic factors beyond their control. These findings have important implications for how best to address adverse social determinants of health for this vulnerable pediatric population so that urban-based pediatric hematology clinics can more equitably support families.
AHRQ-funded; HS022242.
Citation: Loo S, Brochier A, Wexler MG .
Addressing unmet basic needs for children with sickle cell disease in the United States: clinic and staff perspectives.
BMC Health Serv Res 2021 Jan 12;21(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-06055-y..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Sickle Cell Disease, Chronic Conditions, Social Determinants of Health, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider, Urban Health
Babbott S, Manwell LB, Brown R
Electronic medical records and physician stress in primary care: results from the MEMO Study.
In this paper, the investigators assessed relationships between the number of EMR functions, primary care work conditions, and physician satisfaction, stress and burnout. The authors concluded that stress may rise for physicians with a moderate number of EMR functions; they found that time pressure was associated with poor physician outcomes mainly in the high EMR cluster.
AHRQ-funded; HS011955.
Citation: Babbott S, Manwell LB, Brown R .
Electronic medical records and physician stress in primary care: results from the MEMO Study.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2014 Feb;21(e1):e100-6. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2013-001875..
Keywords: Burnout, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician
Bleser WK, Miller-Day M, Naughton D
Strategies for achieving whole-practice engagement and buy-in to the patient-centered medical home.
In this paper the authors describe strategies for obtaining organizational buy-in to and whole-staff engagement of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) transformation and practice improvement. The investigators suggest that their study provides a list of strategies useful for facilitating PCMH transformation in primary care. They assert that these strategies could be investigated empirically in future research, used to guide medical practices undergoing or considering PCMH transformation, and used to inform health care policy makers.
AHRQ-funded; HS019150.
Citation: Bleser WK, Miller-Day M, Naughton D .
Strategies for achieving whole-practice engagement and buy-in to the patient-centered medical home.
Ann Fam Med 2014 Jan-Feb;12(1):37-45. doi: 10.1370/afm.1564..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Organizational Change, Primary Care: Models of Care, Primary Care, Practice Improvement, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider