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
Topics
- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (1)
- Antibiotics (1)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (1)
- Care Management (1)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- Communication (2)
- Decision Making (1)
- Diabetes (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (2)
- Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) (2)
- Emergency Department (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Guidelines (2)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (3)
- Health Literacy (1)
- (-) Medication (8)
- Medication: Safety (2)
- Opioids (3)
- Pain (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient Adherence/Compliance (1)
- Patient Safety (2)
- Practice Patterns (3)
- Primary Care (2)
- Provider (7)
- (-) Provider: Clinician (8)
- Provider: Pharmacist (1)
- Provider: Physician (5)
- Risk (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 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedKandaswamy 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
Everson J, Cheng AK, Patrick SW
Association of electronic prescribing of controlled substances with opioid prescribing rates.
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between use of electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) and trends in opioid prescribing. Results suggested that an increased use of EPCS was not associated with decreased opioid prescribing or a decrease in the amount prescribed and may have been associated with a small increase in opioid prescribing. Recommendations included levers to ensure that EPCS is integrated with outside data and that information is actively used to inform prescribing decisions.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Everson J, Cheng AK, Patrick SW .
Association of electronic prescribing of controlled substances with opioid prescribing rates.
JAMA Netw Open 2020 Dec;3(12):e2027951. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.27951..
Keywords: Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Health Information Technology (HIT), Opioids, Medication, Practice Patterns, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider
Militello LG, Hurley RW, Cook RL
Primary care clinicians' beliefs and strategies for managing chronic pain in an era of a national opioid epidemic.
Investigators sought a better understanding of primary care clinicians’ approaches to managing patients with chronic pain and explored implications for technological and administrative interventions. They found that primary care clinicians’ beliefs about opioid therapy generally align with the clinical evidence but may have some important gaps, suggesting the potential value of interventions that include improved access to research findings, organizational changes to support spending time with patients to develop rapport, and the need for innovative clinical cognitive support.
AHRQ-funded; HS023306.
Citation: Militello LG, Hurley RW, Cook RL .
Primary care clinicians' beliefs and strategies for managing chronic pain in an era of a national opioid epidemic.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Dec;35(12):3542-48. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06178-2..
Keywords: Primary Care, Opioids, Medication, Pain, Chronic Conditions, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider, Care Management
Kohut MR, Keller SC, Linder JA
AHRQ Author: Miller MA
The inconvincible patient: how clinicians perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting.
Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with clinicians to determine how they perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting. They conducted interviews with 25 clinicians from nine practices across three states. Patient demand was the most common reason why non-indicated antibiotics were prescribed. Clinicians felt that if they didn’t prescribe them they would experience repercussions in their reputation and practice and that certain patients are impossible to please without an antibiotic prescription regardless of the diagnosis.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Kohut MR, Keller SC, Linder JA .
The inconvincible patient: how clinicians perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting.
Fam Pract 2020 Mar 25;37(2):276-82. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmz066..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider
Pack AP, Golin CE, Hill LM
Patient and clinician perspectives on optimizing graphical displays of longitudinal medication adherence data.
This study looked into the value of using graphical display prototypes of hypothetical daily drug concentrations measured in hair for patients to assess their medication adherence. Investigators surveyed 30 HIV-positive patients and 29 clinicians to assess their preferences for three different prototypes. Patients and clinicians generally found the prototypes acceptable, but clinicians largely preferred daily drug concentrations in bar graph display. Patients with lower health literacy had trouble understanding the link between medication-taking and drug concentrations in hair and also preferred pictographs over bar or line graphs.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Pack AP, Golin CE, Hill LM .
Patient and clinician perspectives on optimizing graphical displays of longitudinal medication adherence data.
Patient Educ Couns 2019 Jun;102(6):1090-97. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2018.12.029..
Keywords: Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Health Literacy, Medication, Patient Adherence/Compliance, Provider, Provider: Clinician
P Dellsperger, KC Fallaw, D
AHRQ Author: Rangachari
A mixed-method study of practitioners' perspectives on issues related to EHR medication reconciliation at a health system.
This study sought to identify issues related to electronic health record (EHR) medication reconciliation (MedRec) from the perspective of practitioners directly involved in the EHR MedRec process, with the goal of reducing medication discrepancies during transitions of care and improving the accuracy of patient medication lists. The study was conducted in two rounds: individual interviews, then a survey of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists based in the outpatient and inpatient medicine service at AU Health. The survey elicited practitioner ratings of the importance of issues identified during the interviews. Issues that were rated as important by more than 70 percent of respondents include care coordination, patient education, ownership and accountability, processes-of-care, IT-related issues, and workforce training. From these issues, the authors conclude that there is an absence of shared understanding among practitioners regarding the value of EHR MedRec in promoting patient safety, which contributes to work-arounds and the suboptimal use of the EHR MedRec system, and there is also a sociotechnical dimension to many of these issues which creates an additional layer of complexity.
AHRQ-funded; HS024335.
Citation: P Dellsperger, KC Fallaw, D .
A mixed-method study of practitioners' perspectives on issues related to EHR medication reconciliation at a health system.
Qual Manag Health Care 2019 Apr/Jun;28(2):84-95. doi: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000208..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Provider, Provider: Clinician
McCreedy EM, Kane RL, Gollust SE
Patient-centered guidelines for geriatric diabetes care: potential missed opportunities to avoid harm.
Clinicians strive to deliver individualized, patient-centered care. However, these intentions are understudied. This research explored how patient characteristics associated with a high risk-to-benefit ratio with hypoglycemia medications affected decision making by primary care clinicians. The investigators found that primary care clinicians often chose to intensify glycemic control despite individual patient factors that warranted higher glycemic targets based on existing guidelines.
AHRQ-funded; HS000011.
Citation: McCreedy EM, Kane RL, Gollust SE .
Patient-centered guidelines for geriatric diabetes care: potential missed opportunities to avoid harm.
J Am Board Fam Med 2018 Mar-Apr;31(2):192-200. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2018.02.170141..
Keywords: Diabetes, Elderly, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Guidelines, Evidence-Based Practice, Decision Making, Medication, Primary Care, Practice Patterns, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider
Kim HS, McCarthy DM, Hoppe JA
Emergency department provider perspectives on benzodiazepine-opioid coprescribing: a qualitative study.
This study examined attitudes of emergency department residents, attending physicians, and pharmacists from three hospitals on coprescribing benzodiazepines and opioids. There is mounting evidence that this increases overdose risk. Focus groups were conducted using semistructured interviews which were audio-recorded and transcribed. Participants were reluctant to admit coprescribing and said when they did that specific discharge instructions were provided. The decision was also influenced by a provider’s belief in the efficacy of combination therapy as well as self-imposed pressure to escalate care or avoid hospital admission. They did not like the idea of using computerized alerts, but were support of pharmacist-assisted interventions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011; HS000078.
Citation: Kim HS, McCarthy DM, Hoppe JA .
Emergency department provider perspectives on benzodiazepine-opioid coprescribing: a qualitative study.
Acad Emerg Med 2018 Jan;25(1):15-24. doi: 10.1111/acem.13273..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Guidelines, Medication, Opioids, Practice Patterns, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Pharmacist, Provider: Physician