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
- Adverse Events (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- (-) Care Coordination (18)
- Caregiving (2)
- Care Management (1)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (3)
- (-) Communication (18)
- Comparative Effectiveness (1)
- Elderly (3)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (1)
- Emergency Department (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (5)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (6)
- Health Insurance (1)
- Hospital Discharge (6)
- Hospitalization (1)
- Hospitals (3)
- Maternal Care (1)
- Medical Errors (2)
- Medication (1)
- Nursing Homes (3)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (2)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (1)
- Patient and Family Engagement (3)
- Patient Safety (4)
- Policy (1)
- Pregnancy (1)
- Primary Care (1)
- Provider: Clinician (1)
- Provider: Nurse (1)
- Provider: Physician (1)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality of Care (1)
- Surgery (2)
- Teams (1)
- Transitions of Care (4)
- 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 18 of 18 Research Studies DisplayedAlagoz E, Saucke M, Arroyo N
Communication during interhospital transfers of emergency general surgery patients: a qualitative study of challenges and opportunities.
This study’s objective was to understand the nature of and challenges to communication between referring (RP) and accepting (AP) providers transferring emergency general surgery (EGS) patients from the transfer center nurse’s (TCN) perspective. Worse outcomes have been shown to be experienced by transferred EGS patients than directly admitted patients. The authors interviewed 17 transfer center nurses (TCNs) at an academic medical center regarding (in)efficient and (in)effective communication between RPs and APs. The in-person interviews were recorded, transcribed and managed in NVivo. Four researchers developed a codebook, which was then co-coded with the transcripts. A consensus was developed to discuss emergency themes and arrive at higher-level concepts. Issues relating to ineffective communication included RPs that provided incomplete information because of a lack of necessary infrastructure, personnel, or technical knowledge; competing clinical demands; or a fear of the transfer request being rejected. Inefficient communication resulted from RPs being unfamiliar with the information APs expected and the lack of a structured process to share information and communication also failed when providers disagreed about the necessity of the transfer.
AHRQ-funded; HS025224.
Citation: Alagoz E, Saucke M, Arroyo N .
Communication during interhospital transfers of emergency general surgery patients: a qualitative study of challenges and opportunities.
J Patient Saf 2022 Oct 1;18(7):711-16. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000979..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Communication, Transitions of Care, Surgery
Campbell Britton M, Petersen-Pickett J, Hodshon B
Mapping the care transition from hospital to skilled nursing facility.
Researchers used process mapping to illustrate the sequence of events involved with hospital discharge and admission to a skilled nursing facility (SNF). These transitions are often associated with breakdowns in communication that may place patients at risk for adverse events. A quality improvement (QI) team worked with frontline staff at an academic medical center and two local SNFs in the northeastern United States. The final process map included care management, medicine, nursing, admissions and physical therapy service staff. The process map showed numerous activities that need to be coordinated between care teams, and highlighted specific opportunities for improving communication between different teams.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Campbell Britton M, Petersen-Pickett J, Hodshon B .
Mapping the care transition from hospital to skilled nursing facility.
J Eval Clin Pract 2020 Jun;26(3):786-90. doi: 10.1111/jep.13238..
Keywords: Transitions of Care, Care Coordination, Quality Improvement, Communication, Hospital Discharge, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Quality of Care
Timbie JW, Kranz AM, Mahmud A
Federally qualified health center strategies for integrating care with hospitals and their association with measures of communication.
Federally qualified health centers have aligned clinical services and systems with local hospitals, but little is known about the specific care integration strategies health centers use or their impact on care. In this study, a research team examined the use of strategies by health centers to integrate care with hospitals and emergency departments (EDs) and their association with performance on measures of health center-hospital communication.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Timbie JW, Kranz AM, Mahmud A .
Federally qualified health center strategies for integrating care with hospitals and their association with measures of communication.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Sep;45(9):620-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.06.004..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Hospitals, Communication, Emergency Department, Care Coordination, Healthcare Delivery
Campbell Britton M, Hodshon B, Chaudhry SI
Implementing a warm handoff between hospital and skilled nursing facility clinicians.
This study focused on increasing better communication during transfers from hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Warm handoffs between hospital and SNF physicians was implemented. Participation in warm handoffs gradually increased – starting at 15.78% in stage 1 and increasing to 46.89% in stage 3. A total of 2417 patient discharges were included in this study.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Campbell Britton M, Hodshon B, Chaudhry SI .
Implementing a warm handoff between hospital and skilled nursing facility clinicians.
J Patient Saf 2019 Sep;15(3):198-204. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000529..
Keywords: Communication, Patient Safety, Hospital Discharge, Transitions of Care, Care Coordination, Hospitals, Nursing Homes
Wyatt DL
AHRQ Author: Wyatt DL
Employing technology to make care transitions safer.
This commentary discusses the potential for errors in patient handoffs; important information about medications and instructions regarding patient care may be overlooked when the patient is referred to special care, moved to a new hospital setting, or discharged. The problem is especially acute for patients with multiple chronic conditions who often undergo frequent transitions to new care settings and healthcare providers. The author describes AHRQ’s funding opportunities for health information technology interventions that aim to improve communication and coordination during care transitions, such as location-based smartphone alerts, a patient-centered discharge toolkit, and a ‘smart pillbox’ electronic medication adherence reporting project.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Wyatt DL .
Employing technology to make care transitions safer.
J Nurs Care Qual 2019 Jul/Sep;34(3):185-88. doi: 10.1097/ncq.0000000000000417..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Care Coordination, Chronic Conditions, Communication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery, Hospital Discharge, Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety, Transitions of Care
Phillippi JC, Holley SL, Thompson JL
A planning checklist for interprofessional consultations for women in midwifery care.
This article describes a planning checklist tool designed by using feedback from women, nurses, midwives, and physicians, to improve communication within one health system and to develop a community-engaged approach for the care of women who began care with midwives but developed risks for poor perinatal outcomes. In feasibility testing, the checklist provided a prompt to generate a comprehensive plan for maternity care and to elucidate the rationale for interventions to women and future health care providers. In post-implementation interviews, women said they were pleased with the information they received, and nurses, midwives, and physicians were positive about improved communication. The article details the creation, implementation, and qualitative evaluation of the planning checklist.
AHRQ-funded; HS024733.
Citation: Phillippi JC, Holley SL, Thompson JL .
A planning checklist for interprofessional consultations for women in midwifery care.
J Midwifery Womens Health 2019 Jan;64(1):98-103. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12900..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Care Management, Communication, Maternal Care, Pregnancy, Women
Quintana Y, Fahy D, Crotty B
InfoSAGE: Supporting elders and families through online family networks.
With an increasingly elderly population, families are finding it increasingly challenging to coordinate care for their older family members. This paper reports on the findings of InfoSAGE, an online private social network that has tools for communication and care coordination for elders and their families.
AHRQ-funded; HS021495; HS024869.
Citation: Quintana Y, Fahy D, Crotty B .
InfoSAGE: Supporting elders and families through online family networks.
AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2018 Dec 5;2018:932-41..
Keywords: Elderly, Caregiving, Health Information Technology (HIT), Communication, Clinician-Patient Communication, Care Coordination
Everson J, Funk RJ, Kaufman SR
Repeated, close physician coronary artery bypass grafting teams associated with greater teamwork.
This study sought to determine whether observed patterns of physician interaction around shared patients are associated with higher levels of teamwork as perceived by physicians. It found that in hospitals where physicians repeatedly cared for patients with the same colleagues, physicians perceived better teamwork. When physicians who worked together also had other colleagues in common, the reported teamwork was stronger.
AHRQ-funded; HS024525; HS024728.
Citation: Everson J, Funk RJ, Kaufman SR .
Repeated, close physician coronary artery bypass grafting teams associated with greater teamwork.
Health Serv Res 2018 Apr;53(2):1025-41. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12703.
.
.
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Care Coordination, Communication, Surgery, Teams
Feder SL, Britton MC, Chaudhry SI
"They need to have an understanding of why they're coming here and what the outcomes might be." Clinician perspectives on goals of care for patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities.
This study examined how clinicians view goals of care (GoC) for hospitalized patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). A variety of clinicians were interviewed: 22% were nurses, 20% physicians, 15% from care management, and 15% from social services. Many respondents felt that patients and their families had unrealistic GoCs. However, conversations on GoCs were infrequent during hospitalizations which contribute to unrealistic expectations for SNF care and poor patient outcomes. The researchers recommend interventions to ensure that GoC conversations and are held regularly and in a timely manner before transfer occurs.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Feder SL, Britton MC, Chaudhry SI .
"They need to have an understanding of why they're coming here and what the outcomes might be." Clinician perspectives on goals of care for patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2018 Mar;55(3):930-37. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.10.013..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Hospital Discharge, Nursing Homes, Patient and Family Engagement, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician
Walker J, Crotty BH, O'Brien J
Addressing the challenges of aging: how elders and their care partners seek information.
Elders in retirement communities face many challenges concerning information and communication. The purpose of this study was to gain insights into how these elders and their families manage health information and communication. The study suggests that elders in senior living communities, and their families, piece together information primarily from word of mouth communication. It asserts that electronic social and collaborative technologies may make information gathering easier.
AHRQ-funded; HS021495.
Citation: Walker J, Crotty BH, O'Brien J .
Addressing the challenges of aging: how elders and their care partners seek information.
Gerontologist 2017 Oct 1;57(5):955-62. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnw060..
Keywords: Elderly, Caregiving, Communication, Care Coordination, Patient and Family Engagement, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Quintana Y, Crotty B, Fahy D
InfoSAGE: use of online technologies for communication and elder care.
To identify how information and communication needs evolved with the aging process, the study authors created a living laboratory of families, supported by an online private social network with tools for care coordination.
AHRQ-funded; HS021495.
Citation: Quintana Y, Crotty B, Fahy D .
InfoSAGE: use of online technologies for communication and elder care.
Stud Health Technol Inform 2017;234:280-85..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Healthcare Delivery, Communication, Elderly, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Feraco AM, Starmer AJ, Sectish TC
Reliability of verbal handoff assessment and handoff quality before and after implementation of a resident handoff bundle.
This study developed validity evidence for the use of the Verbal Handoff Assessment Tool (VHAT),examined the reliability of VHAT scores, and determined whether implementation of a resident handoff bundle was associated with improved verbal patient handoffs among pediatric resident physicians. It found that verbal handoffs improved following implementation of a resident handoff bundle, though gains were variable across the two clinical units.
AHRQ-funded; HS019456.
Citation: Feraco AM, Starmer AJ, Sectish TC .
Reliability of verbal handoff assessment and handoff quality before and after implementation of a resident handoff bundle.
Acad Pediatr 2016 Aug;16(6):524-31. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2016.04.002.
.
.
Keywords: Care Coordination, Communication, Children/Adolescents
Khan A, Rogers JE, Forster CS
Communication and shared understanding between parents and resident-physicians at night.
The researchers studied communication breakdowns evidenced by lack of shared understanding between parents and night-team residents about the reason for admission and care plan. After conducting a prospective cohort study of 286 parents and 37 night-team senior residents, they found that parents and residents reported that they shared an understanding with one another about care plans in 86.0percent and 73.1 percent of cases, respectively.
AHRQ-funded; HS022986; HS000063.
Citation: Khan A, Rogers JE, Forster CS .
Communication and shared understanding between parents and resident-physicians at night.
Hosp Pediatr 2016 Jun;6(6):319-29. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2015-0224.
.
.
Keywords: Care Coordination, Healthcare Delivery, Communication, Patient and Family Engagement, Clinician-Patient Communication
Rundall TG, Wu FM, Lewis VA
Contributions of relational coordination to care management in accountable care organizations: views of managerial and clinical leaders.
The researchers identified the extent to which accountable care organization (ACO) leaders are aware of the dimensions of relational coordination and the ways these leaders believe the dimensions influenced care management practices in their organization. They found that ACO leaders mentioned four relational coordination dimensions: shared goals, frequency of communication, timeliness of communication, and problem solving communication. Their analysis identified ways leaders believed the four dimensions contributed to the development of care management, including contributions to standardization of care, patient engagement, coordination of care, and care planning.
AHRQ-funded; HS022241.
Citation: Rundall TG, Wu FM, Lewis VA .
Contributions of relational coordination to care management in accountable care organizations: views of managerial and clinical leaders.
Health Care Manage Rev 2016 Apr-Jun;41(2):88-100. doi: 10.1097/hmr.0000000000000064.
.
.
Keywords: Care Coordination, Health Insurance, Healthcare Delivery, Communication
Rosenbluth G, Bale JF, Starmer AJ
Variation in printed handoff documents: results and recommendations from a multicenter needs assessment.
The objective of this study was to determine whether variability exists in the content of printed handoff documents and to identify key data elements that should be uniformly included in these documents. It identified substantial variation in both the structure and content of printed handoff documents. Only 4 of 23 possible data elements (17 percent) were uniformly present in all sites’ handoff documents.
AHRQ-funded; HS019456.
Citation: Rosenbluth G, Bale JF, Starmer AJ .
Variation in printed handoff documents: results and recommendations from a multicenter needs assessment.
J Hosp Med 2015 Aug;10(8):517-24. doi: 10.1002/jhm.2380..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Medical Errors, Communication, Comparative Effectiveness, Care Coordination
Jones CD, Vu MB, O'Donnell CM
A failure to communicate: a qualitative exploration of care coordination between hospitalists and primary care providers around patient hospitalizations.
The purpose of this study was to understand the challenges in coordination of care, as well as potential solutions, from the perspective of hospitalists and PCPs in North Carolina. Hospitalists and PCPs were found to encounter similar care coordination challenges, including (1) lack of time, (2) difficulty reaching other clinicians, and (3) lack of personal relationships with other clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS020940.
Citation: Jones CD, Vu MB, O'Donnell CM .
A failure to communicate: a qualitative exploration of care coordination between hospitalists and primary care providers around patient hospitalizations.
J Gen Intern Med 2015 Apr;30(4):417-24. doi: 10.1007/s11606-014-3056-x..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Communication, Hospital Discharge, Hospitalization, Primary Care
Brennan PF, Valdez R, Alexander G
Patient-centered care, collaboration, communication, and coordination: a report from AMIA's 2013 Policy Meeting.
AMIA’s 2013 Health Policy Invitational was focused on examining existing challenges surrounding full engagement of the patient and crafting a research agenda and policy framework encouraging the use of informatics solutions to achieve this goal. This paper summarizes the meeting as well as the research agenda and policy recommendations prioritized among the invited experts and stakeholders.
AHRQ-funded; HS021825.
Citation: Brennan PF, Valdez R, Alexander G .
Patient-centered care, collaboration, communication, and coordination: a report from AMIA's 2013 Policy Meeting.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2015 Apr;22(e1):e2-6. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2014-003176..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Communication, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient-Centered Healthcare, Policy
Liao JM, Roy CL, Eibensteiner K
Lost in transition: discrepancies in how physicians perceive the actionability of the results of tests pending at discharge.
Effective communication of pending hospital test results between inpatient and primary care physicians is sometimes challenging or nonexistent. This communication is essential for safe, quality transactions at discharge. Health information technology (such as email and fax) is an effective strategy for improving and reporting test-result management.
AHRQ-funded; HS018229
Citation: Liao JM, Roy CL, Eibensteiner K .
Lost in transition: discrepancies in how physicians perceive the actionability of the results of tests pending at discharge.
J Hospital Med. 2014 Jun;9(6):407-9. doi: 10.1002/jhm.2177..
Keywords: Communication, Care Coordination, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospital Discharge, Patient Safety