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
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 4 of 4 Research Studies DisplayedGanguli I, Ying W, Shakley T
Cascade services and spending following low-value imaging for uncomplicated low back pain among commercially insured adults.
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of low-value imaging on cascade services and spending in commercially-insured adults with uncomplicated acute low back pain. The researchers analyzed medical claims from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts members aged 18-50 years who received a 2018 diagnosis of uncomplicated low back pain, for which imaging was considered inappropriate according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) criteria. In 2018, 30,892 members were eligible for low-value imaging. Of these, 6009 (19.5%) received low-value imaging: 5091 (16.5%) X-ray and 787 (2.5%) MRI. The study found that when compared to patients without low-value imaging, those with low-value X-ray or MRI had higher adjusted probabilities of receiving cascade services and greater adjusted total spending at 3, 6, and 12 months. These results were robust to falsification testing. Members with high deductible health plans (HDHP) had higher narrowly defined cascade-associated out-of-pocket spending than those in other plans. The most common sources of narrowly defined cascade-associated spending were physical therapy, office visits, radiology studies, laboratory studies, and surgery.
J Gen Intern Med 2023 Mar;38(4):1102-05. doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07829-2
Citation: Ganguli I, Ying W, Shakley T .
Cascade services and spending following low-value imaging for uncomplicated low back pain among commercially insured adults.
.
Keywords: Imaging, Back Health and Pain, Pain, Healthcare Costs
Gaskin DJ, Karmarkar TD, Maurer A
Potential role of cost and quality of life in treatment decisions for arthritis-related knee pain in African American and Latina women.
This study examined whether using a decision-making tool would aid Latina and African-American women over age 45 years with arthritic knee pain in making more informed treatment decisions. The researchers conducted 4 focus groups of Latina and African-American women and 2 focus groups with primary care providers who treated them for knee pain. They found that minority women and primary care providers all endorsed the use of a decision-making tool that provided information on the impact of treatment on quality of life, medical care costs, and work productivity.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Gaskin DJ, Karmarkar TD, Maurer A .
Potential role of cost and quality of life in treatment decisions for arthritis-related knee pain in African American and Latina women.
Arthritis Care Res 2020 May;72(5):692-98. doi: 10.1002/acr.23903..
Keywords: Arthritis, Orthopedics, Pain, Quality of Life, Healthcare Costs, Decision Making, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Women
Fritz JM, Kim M, Magel JS
Cost-effectiveness of primary care management with or without early physical therapy for acute low back pain: economic evaluation of a randomized clinical trial.
The objective of this study was to compare costs and cost-effectiveness of usual primary care management for patients with acute low back pain with or without the addition of early physical therapy. The authors suggest that their results support early physical therapy as cost-effective relative to usual primary care after 1 year for patients with acute, nonspecific lower back pain.
AHRQ-funded; HS018672.
Citation: Fritz JM, Kim M, Magel JS .
Cost-effectiveness of primary care management with or without early physical therapy for acute low back pain: economic evaluation of a randomized clinical trial.
Spine 2017 Mar;42(5):285-90. doi: 10.1097/brs.0000000000001729..
Keywords: Back Health and Pain, Healthcare Costs, Pain, Primary Care
Torio C
AHRQ Author: Torio C
Paediatric pain-related conditions impact healthcare expenditures.
The author comments on a cross-sectional study (Groenewald et al., Pain 2015; 156:951–7) that highlights the impact of pediatric pain-related conditions on national healthcare expenditures. She argues that to reduce the national toll of pain on the US economy, future studies should determine the most effective strategies to reduce on a population-level disruption and the personal, financial and social costs of pain.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Torio C .
Paediatric pain-related conditions impact healthcare expenditures.
Evid Based Med 2015 Dec;20(6):229. doi: 10.1136/ebmed-2015-110207..
Keywords: Pain, Children/Adolescents, Healthcare Costs, Children/Adolescents