National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Chronic Conditions (1)
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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 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedGettel 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
Smulowitz PB, O'Malley AJ, Zaborski L
Variation in emergency department admission rates among Medicare patients: does the physician matter?
Hospitalizations account for the largest share of health care spending. New payment models increasingly encourage health care providers to reduce hospital admissions. Although emergency department (ED) physicians play a major role in the decision to admit a patient, the extent to which admission rates vary among ED physicians even within the same hospital remains poorly understood. In this study the investigators examined physician-level variation in ED admission rates for Medicare patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS025408.
Citation: Smulowitz PB, O'Malley AJ, Zaborski L .
Variation in emergency department admission rates among Medicare patients: does the physician matter?
Health Aff 2021 Feb;40(2):251-57. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00670..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Hospitalization, Medicare, Provider: Physician, Provider
Fraze TK, Briggs ADM, Whitcomb EK
Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs.
The objective of this study was to estimate trends in the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners from 2012 to 2017, to characterize beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners in 2017, and to examine how the percentage of beneficiaries cared for by nurse practitioners varies by practice characteristics. Findings showed that nurse practitioners are caring for Medicare beneficiaries with complex needs at rates that match or exceed their physician colleagues. The growing role of nurse practitioners, especially in health care systems, warrants attention as organizations embark on payment and delivery reform.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Fraze TK, Briggs ADM, Whitcomb EK .
Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs.
Med Care 2020 Oct;58(10):853-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001364..
Keywords: Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Chronic Conditions, Primary Care, Medicare
Tang AB, Childers CP, Dworsky JQ
Surgeon work captured by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program across specialties.
The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database is increasingly used for surgical research. However, it is unclear how well this database represents the breadth of work performed by different specialties. Using the 2017 NSQIP participant use file and the 2017 Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary file, the investigators evaluated (1) what proportion of surgical work was captured by NSQIP, (2) what procedures and disciplines were undersampled, and (3) the overall concordance between the NSQIP sample and a national sample.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Tang AB, Childers CP, Dworsky JQ .
Surgeon work captured by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program across specialties.
Surgery 2020 Mar;167(3):550-55. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2019.11.013..
Keywords: Surgery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider: Physician, Provider, Medicare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Jalali A, Martin C, Nelson RE
Provider practice competition and adoption of Medicare's Oncology Care Model.
The purpose of this study was to measure the association between regional market competition among medical oncologists with the initial adoption of the Oncology Care Model (OCM). Findings showed that practices in competitive health care markets were more likely to adopt OCM than in noncompetitive markets. Average practice size, number of practices in a hospital referral region, and the hospital bed rate were positively associated with adoption, whereas the rate of full-time equivalent hospital employees to 1000 residents was negatively associated with adoption. Recommendations included careful monitoring of market-level changes among OCM adopters to ensure that the benefits of the OCM outweigh the negative consequences of possible changes in competition.
AHRQ-funded; HS024714.
Citation: Jalali A, Martin C, Nelson RE .
Provider practice competition and adoption of Medicare's Oncology Care Model.
Med Care 2020 Feb;58(2):154-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001243..
Keywords: Medicare, Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider
Markovitz AA, Rozier MD, Ryan AM
Low-value care and clinician engagement in a large Medicare shared savings program ACO: a survey of frontline clinicians.
The purpose of this study was to assess Accountable Care Organization (ACO) engagement of clinicians and whether engagement was associated with clinicians' reported difficulty implementing recommendations against low-value care. Participants included 1289 clinicians in the Physician Organization of Michigan ACO. Results showed that clinicians participating in a large Medicare ACO were broadly unaware of and unengaged with ACO objectives and activities. Whether low clinician engagement limits ACO efforts to reduce low-value care warrants further longitudinal study.
AHRQ-funded; HS024525; HS024728; HS025615.
Citation: Markovitz AA, Rozier MD, Ryan AM .
Low-value care and clinician engagement in a large Medicare shared savings program ACO: a survey of frontline clinicians.
J Gen Intern Med 2020 Jan;35(1):133-41. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05511-8..
Keywords: Medicare, Policy, Provider
Everson J, Richards MR, Buntin MB
Horizontal and vertical integration's role in meaningful use attestation over time.
This study examined rates of attestation and attrition from the meaningful use (MU) program by independent, horizontally integrated, and vertically integrated physicians. The goal was to determine if MU created pressure for independent physicians to join integrated organizations. They compared attestation rates using secondary data from SK&A and Medicare MU Files from 2011-2016 with office-based physicians. The sample size was 291,234 physicians. Forty-nine percent of physicians that remained independent during the period attested to MU at least once during the program, compared with 70% that remained horizontally or vertically integrated. There was also significantly more attrition among independent physicians than those physicians who were integrated.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Everson J, Richards MR, Buntin MB .
Horizontal and vertical integration's role in meaningful use attestation over time.
Health Serv Res 2019 Oct;54(5):1075-83. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13193..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Workforce, Provider: Physician, Provider, Medicare
Goodwin JS, Salameh H, Zhou J
Association of hospitalist years of experience with mortality in the hospitalized Medicare population.
The purpose of the study is to describe the association of hospitalist years of experience with 30-day mortality and hospital mortality of their patients. The authors noted that patients cared for by hospitalists in their first year of practice experienced higher mortality. The authors asserted that early-career hospitalists may require additional support to ensure optimal outcomes for their patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022134.
Citation: Goodwin JS, Salameh H, Zhou J .
Association of hospitalist years of experience with mortality in the hospitalized Medicare population.
JAMA Intern Med 2018 Feb;178(2):196-203. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.7049..
Keywords: Hospitalization, Inpatient Care, Medicare, Mortality, Provider