National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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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
2351 to 2375 of 12139 Research Studies DisplayedTrivedi LU, Femnou Mbuntum L, Halm EA
Is statin use associated with risk of thyroid diseases? Results of a retrospective cohort study.
Given the ubiquity of statin use and prevalence of thyroid diseases, such as thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, and thyroiditis, understanding their association deserves further attention. The objective of the study was to examine the association between statin use and thyroid cancer, thyrotoxicosis, goiter, and thyroiditis. The investigators concluded that this study did not demonstrate any association of statins with harmful effects on thyroid diseases, which offers assurance to clinicians and patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Trivedi LU, Femnou Mbuntum L, Halm EA .
Is statin use associated with risk of thyroid diseases? Results of a retrospective cohort study.
Ann Pharmacother 2021 Sep;55(9):1110-19. doi: 10.1177/1060028020986552..
Keywords: Medication, Risk, Adverse Drug Events (ADE)
Pakyz AL, Wang H, Ozcan YA
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score, magnet designation, and healthcare-associated infections in United States hospitals.
The goal of this study was to determine whether Magnet designation and hospitals with better Leapfrog Hospital Safety Scores have fewer healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Findings showed that “A” hospitals performed better on clostridium difficile infection (CDI) but not methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections, while Magnet designation was associated with fewer than expected MRSA infections but more than expected CDIs. These mixed results show that hospital global assessments of safety and workplace quality differentially and imperfectly predict its level of HAIs.
AHRQ-funded; HS018578.
Citation: Pakyz AL, Wang H, Ozcan YA .
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score, magnet designation, and healthcare-associated infections in United States hospitals.
J Patient Saf 2021 Sep 1;17(6):445-50. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000378..
Keywords: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Patient Safety
Schulson L, Lin MY, Paasche-Orlow MK
Limited English proficient patient visits and emergency department admission rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions in California: a retrospective cohort study.
Little is known about the risk of admission for emergency department (ED) visits for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) by limited English proficient (LEP) patients. The objective of this study was to estimate admission rates from ED for ACSCs comparing LEP and English proficient (EP) patients and examine how these rates varied at hospitals with a high versus low proportion of LEP patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022242.
Citation: Schulson L, Lin MY, Paasche-Orlow MK .
Limited English proficient patient visits and emergency department admission rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions in California: a retrospective cohort study.
J Gen Intern Med 2021 Sep;36(9):2683-91. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06523-5..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Vulnerable Populations, Communication
Puthumana JS, Fong A, Blumenthal J
Making patient safety event data actionable: understanding patient safety analyst needs.
The increase in patient safety reporting systems has led to the challenge of effectively analyzing these data to identify and mitigate safety hazards. Patient safety analysts, who manage reports, may be ill-equipped to make sense of report data. The investigators sought to understand the cognitive needs of patient safety analysts as they worked to leverage patient safety reports to mitigate risk and improve patient care.
AHRQ-funded; HS023874.
Citation: Puthumana JS, Fong A, Blumenthal J .
Making patient safety event data actionable: understanding patient safety analyst needs.
J Patient Saf 2021 Sep 1;17(6):e509-e14. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000400..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Hospitals
Nguyen OK, Washington C, Clark CR
Man vs. machine: comparing physician vs. electronic health record-based model predictions for 30-day hospital readmissions.
Electronic health record (EHR)-based readmission risk prediction models can be automated in real-time but have modest discrimination and may be missing important readmission risk factors. Clinician predictions of readmissions may incorporate information unavailable in the EHR, but the comparative usefulness is unknown. In this study, the investigators sought to compare clinicians versus a validated EHR-based prediction model in predicting 30-day hospital readmissions.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Nguyen OK, Washington C, Clark CR .
Man vs. machine: comparing physician vs. electronic health record-based model predictions for 30-day hospital readmissions.
J Gen Intern Med 2021 Sep;36(9):2555-62. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06355-3..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospital Readmissions
Viswanathan M, Cook Middleton J, Stuebe AM
Maternal, fetal, and child outcomes of mental health treatments in women: a meta‐analysis of pharmacotherapy
The authors systematically reviewed evidence on pharmacotherapy for perinatal mental health disorders. The investigators concluded that evidence from few studies supported the use of pharmacotherapy for perinatal mental health disorders. Although many studies reported on adverse events, they could not rule out underlying disease severity as the cause of the association between exposures and adverse events.
AHRQ-funded; 290201500011I.
Citation: Viswanathan M, Cook Middleton J, Stuebe AM .
Maternal, fetal, and child outcomes of mental health treatments in women: a meta‐analysis of pharmacotherapy
Psych Res Clin Pract 2021 Sep;3(3):123-40. doi: 10.1176/appi.prcp.20210001..
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Women, Maternal Care, Pregnancy, Medication, Evidence-Based Practice
Markovitz AA, Ayanian JZ, Warrier A
Medicare Advantage plan double bonuses drive racial disparity in payments, yield no quality or enrollment improvements.
Using national data for 2008-18, investigators found that double bonuses were not associated with either improvements in plan quality or increased Medicare Advantage enrollment. Additionally, double bonuses increased payments to plans to care for Black beneficiaries by $60 per year, compared with $91 for White beneficiaries. These findings suggest that double bonuses not only fail to improve quality and enrollment but also foster a racially inequitable distribution of Medicare funds that disfavors Black beneficiaries. This study supports eliminating double bonuses, thereby saving Medicare an estimated $1.8 billion per year.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053.
Citation: Markovitz AA, Ayanian JZ, Warrier A .
Medicare Advantage plan double bonuses drive racial disparity in payments, yield no quality or enrollment improvements.
Health Aff 2021 Sep;40(9):1411-19. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00349..
Keywords: Medicare, Health Insurance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Holaday LW, Balasuriya L, Roy B
Medicare beneficiaries' plans for the COVID-19 vaccine in Fall 2020, and why some planned to decline.
This study uses data from a survey of Medicare beneficiaries conducted in the fall of 2020 before the COVID-19 vaccine was approved to try and predict COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and decline rates. A cross-sectional analysis using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Fall COVID-19 Supplement was used to conduct telephone interviews administered by NORC at the University of Chicago. The analysis included 8,455 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries, representative of 50.2 million people. Overall, 58.7% said they would get the vaccine, 15.3% said they would not, and 26.1% were unsure. Least likely to say they would get a vaccine were beneficiaries under 65 years old (48.8%), Black beneficiaries (36.2%) and Hispanic beneficiaries (50.5%). Reasons given for not planning to get vaccinated included 1) the vaccine could have side effects or is not safe (42.4%), 2) do not trust what the government says about the vaccine (42.4%), 3) do not think the vaccine would prevent COVID-19 (11.%), and 4) do not like vaccines or needles (8.2%). Black and Hispanic beneficiaries were more likely to say they were declining because they don’t trust the government than White beneficiaries. Younger beneficiaries were more likely to say the vaccine could cause COVID-19, and only 2% of respondents said they would decline the vaccine because COVID-19 is not serious. The latter group was disproportionately male (77.5%) and White (94.5%).
AHRQ-funded; HS022882; HS025164.
Citation: Holaday LW, Balasuriya L, Roy B .
Medicare beneficiaries' plans for the COVID-19 vaccine in Fall 2020, and why some planned to decline.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2021 Sep;69(9):2434-37. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17285..
Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccination, Medicare
Bonilla AG, Pourat N, Chuang E
Mental health staffing at HRSA-funded health centers may improve access to care.
This study examines the association between mental health staffing at health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and patients' receipt of mental health treatment. Data from the 2014 HRSA-funded Health Center Patient Survey and the 2013 Uniform Data System were used. Findings showed that co-locating mental health staff at health centers increased the probability of patients' access to such treatment on site as well as from off-site providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Bonilla AG, Pourat N, Chuang E .
Mental health staffing at HRSA-funded health centers may improve access to care.
Psychiatr Serv 2021 Sep;72(9):1018-25. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000337..
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Access to Care
Cheng BT, Fishbein AB, Silverberg JI
Mental health symptoms and functional impairment in children with atopic dermatitis.
This study sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of social and behavioral symptoms and functional impairment among US children with atopic dermatitis (AD). Using MEPS data 1996-2015, findings showed that AD was associated with behavioral and functional impairment, similar to psoriasis and other common chronic conditions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011.
Citation: Cheng BT, Fishbein AB, Silverberg JI .
Mental health symptoms and functional impairment in children with atopic dermatitis.
Dermatitis 2021 Sep-Oct;32(5):353-61. doi: 10.1097/der.0000000000000680..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Skin Conditions, Chronic Conditions, Behavioral Health
Freno DR, Shipe ME, Levack MM
Modeling the impact of delaying transcatheter aortic valve replacement for the treatment of aortic stenosis in the era of COVID-19.
The objective of this study was to model the short term and 2-year overall survival for intermediate-risk and low-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing timely or delayed transcatheter aortic valve replacement during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Findings showed that prompt transcatheter aortic valve replacement for both intermediate-risk and low-risk patients with severe symptomatic AS resulted in improved 2-year survival when local healthcare system resources were not significantly constrained by COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Freno DR, Shipe ME, Levack MM .
Modeling the impact of delaying transcatheter aortic valve replacement for the treatment of aortic stenosis in the era of COVID-19.
JTCVS Open 2021 Sep;7:63-71. doi: 10.1016/j.xjon.2021.06.006..
Keywords: COVID-19, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Access to Care
Hewitt DB, Chung JW, Ellis RJ
National evaluation of surgical resident grit and the association with wellness outcomes.
Investigators sought to characterize grit among US general surgery residents and to examine the association between resident grit and wellness outcomes. Grit was measured using the 8-item Short Grit Scale. They found that, in this national survey evaluation, higher grit scores were associated with a lower likelihood of burnout, thoughts of attrition, and suicidal thoughts among general surgery residents. They concluded that grit is likely not an effective screening instrument to select residents; instead, they recommended that institutions ensure an organizational culture that promotes and supports trainees across this elevated range of grit scores.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078.
Citation: Hewitt DB, Chung JW, Ellis RJ .
National evaluation of surgical resident grit and the association with wellness outcomes.
JAMA Surg 2021 Sep;156(9):856-63. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2021.2378.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078..
AHRQ-funded; HS000078..
Keywords: Provider: Physician, Surgery, Burnout
Smulowitz PB, O'Malley AJ, Khidir H
National trends In ED visits, hospital admissions, and mortality for Medicare patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concerns about avoidance or delays in seeking emergency care during the COVID-19 pandemic are widespread, but national data on emergency department (ED) visits and subsequent rates of hospitalization and outcomes are lacking. In this study, the investigators examined trends in ED visits and rates of hospitalization and thirty-day mortality conditional on an ED visit for non-COVID-19 conditions during several stages of the pandemic and for areas that were considered COVID-19 hot spots versus those that were not.
AHRQ-funded; HS025408.
Citation: Smulowitz PB, O'Malley AJ, Khidir H .
National trends In ED visits, hospital admissions, and mortality for Medicare patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Aff 2021 Sep;40(9):1457-64. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00561..
Keywords: COVID-19, Public Health, Emergency Department, Hospitalization
Fischer MA, Mahesri M, Lii J
Non-visit-based and non-infection-related antibiotic use in the US: a cohort study of privately insured patients during 2016-2018.
Ambulatory antibiotic prescriptions without a clinic visit or without documentation of infection could represent overuse and contribute to adverse outcomes. We aim to describe US ambulatory antibiotic prescribing, including those without an associated visit or infection diagnosis. The investigators conducted an observational cohort study using data of all patients receiving antibacterial, antibiotic prescriptions from 04/01/2016 to 06/30/2018 in a large US private health insurance plan. They concluded that over half of ambulatory antibiotic use was either non-visit-based or non-infection-related.
AHRQ-funded; HS02493.
Citation: Fischer MA, Mahesri M, Lii J .
Non-visit-based and non-infection-related antibiotic use in the US: a cohort study of privately insured patients during 2016-2018.
Open Forum Infect Dis 2021 Sep;8(9):ofab412. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab412..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Antimicrobial Stewardship
Santos T, Lindrooth RC
Nonprofit hospital community benefits: collaboration with local health departments to address the drug epidemic.
Nonprofit hospitals (NFPs) are required to provide community benefits, which have been historically focused on provision of medical care, to keep their tax exemption status. To increase hospital investment in community health, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required NFPs to conduct community health needs assessments and address identified needs. The objective of this study was to examine the association of NFP-local health department collaboration in local health planning targeting drug use, with drug-induced mortality.
AHRQ-funded; HS024959; HS025208; HS026116.
Citation: Santos T, Lindrooth RC .
Nonprofit hospital community benefits: collaboration with local health departments to address the drug epidemic.
Med Care 2021 Sep;59(9):829-35. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001595..
Keywords: Substance Abuse, Hospitals
Fredericksen RJ, Harding BN, Ruderman SA
Patient acceptability and usability of a self-administered electronic patient-reported outcome assessment in HIV care: relationship with health behaviors and outcomes.
The authors assessed acceptability/usability of tablet-based patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments among patients in HIV care and relationships with health outcomes using a modified Acceptability E-Scale (AES) within a self-administered PRO assessment. They found that higher acceptability was associated with better quality of life and adherence while lower acceptability was associated with higher depression symptoms, recent illicit opioid use, and multiple recent sex partners. While patients endorsing depression symptoms, recent opioid use, sex without condoms, or multiple sex partners found PROs less acceptable, overall, patients found the assessments highly acceptable and easy to use.
AHRQ-funded; HS026154.
Citation: Fredericksen RJ, Harding BN, Ruderman SA .
Patient acceptability and usability of a self-administered electronic patient-reported outcome assessment in HIV care: relationship with health behaviors and outcomes.
AIDS Care 2021 Sep;33(9):1167-77. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2020.1845288..
Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Quality of Life, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Outcomes, Chronic Conditions
Smith BM, Sharma R, Das A
Patient and family engagement strategies for children and adolescents with chronic diseases: a review of systematic reviews.
Patient and family engagement is important for family-centered care, particularly for children and adolescents with chronic disease. In this study the investigators aimed to 1) identify available evidence from systematic reviews on engagement strategies used to help children, adolescents, and their caregivers manage chronic conditions, and 2) identify gaps in the literature. They searched PubMed and CINAHL from January 2015 to January 2020 for systematic reviews on patient and family engagement strategies in the pediatrics population (<18 years).
AHRQ-funded; 290201500006I.
Citation: Smith BM, Sharma R, Das A .
Patient and family engagement strategies for children and adolescents with chronic diseases: a review of systematic reviews.
Patient Educ Couns 2021 Sep;104(9):2213-23. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.02.026..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Patient and Family Engagement, Chronic Conditions, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient Self-Management
Connell SK, To T, Arora K, Ramos J, SK, To T, Arora K
Perspectives of parents and providers on reasons for mental health readmissions: a content analysis study.
This retrospective study is a survey of parents and providers on the reasons for pediatric mental health readmissions. The survey was administered to parents and providers of patients with a 14-day readmission to an inpatient pediatric psychiatry unit between May 2017 and August 2018. The authors had completed survey responses from 89 (64%) of 138 readmission encounters. The top three readmission reasons given by parents were discordant inpatient stay expectations with providers (41%), discharge hesitancy (34%), and treatment plan failure (13%). Among providers, the top reasons were access to inpatient care (30%), treatment adherence (13%), a challenging home (11%) and social environment (11%).
AHRQ-funded; HS024299.
Citation: Connell SK, To T, Arora K, Ramos J, SK, To T, Arora K .
Perspectives of parents and providers on reasons for mental health readmissions: a content analysis study.
Adm Policy Ment Health 2021 Sep;48(5):830-38. doi: 10.1007/s10488-021-01134-6..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Hospital Readmissions
Quigley DD, Slaughter M, Qureshi N
Practices and changes associated with patient-centered medical home transformation.
Knowing which patient-centered medical home (PCMH) care delivery changes and quality improvement (QI) practices further PCMH implementation is essential. In this study, the investigators used the 2008-2017 National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) PCMH directory of 15,188 primary care practices that received Level 1, 2, or 3 NCQA PCMH recognition to: 1.) construct a stratified national sample of 105 practices engaged in PCMH transformation and 2.) examine their QI practices and PCMH changes associated with PCMH transformation.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Slaughter M, Qureshi N .
Practices and changes associated with patient-centered medical home transformation.
Am J Manag Care 2021 Sep;27(9):386-93. doi: 10.37765/ajmc.2021.88740..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Primary Care, Practice Improvement, Healthcare Delivery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Ing C, Landau R, DeStephano D
Prenatal exposure to general anesthesia and childhood behavioral deficit.
This study looked at the association of prenatal exposure to general anesthesia and childhood behavioral deficits. The Raine Study was an observational cohort study of children born in Perth, Western Australia with 2 generations of participations. The first generation (Gen1) were mothers enrolled during pregnancy, and the second generation (Gen2) were the children born from 1989 to 1992 with neuropsychological and behavioral tests evaluated at age 10. Six neuropsychological and behavioral tests were used with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) as the main test. Among 2024 children with available outcome scores, 22 were prenatally exposed to general anesthesia. These children had higher CBCL Externalizing behavioral scores than unexposed children. Of the six tests used, only CBCL Externalizing behavioral scores remained significant after multiple comparisons adjustment.
AHRQ-funded; HS026493.
Citation: Ing C, Landau R, DeStephano D .
Prenatal exposure to general anesthesia and childhood behavioral deficit.
Anesth Analg 2021 Sep 1;133(3):595-605. doi: 10.1213/ane.0000000000005389..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Pregnancy, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events
Chua KP, Linder JA
Prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by antibiotic among privately and publicly insured non-elderly US patients, 2018.
The authors used 2018 commercial and Medicaid claims to assess inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. In their analysis, 22% of antibiotic claims were inappropriate. Azithromycin had an outsized role in inappropriate prescribing. They concluded that broad-based stewardship initiatives remain important given widespread inappropriate prescribing of all antibiotics.
AHRQ-funded; HS024930; HS026506; 2332015000201.
Citation: Chua KP, Linder JA .
Prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by antibiotic among privately and publicly insured non-elderly US patients, 2018.
J Gen Intern Med 2021 Sep;36(9):2861-64. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06189-z..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Medication, Medicaid, Health Insurance
Misra-Hebert AD, Hu B, Pantalone KM
Primary care health care use for patients with type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study sought to examine factors associated with total and virtual primary care use for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used electronic medical records in the Cleveland Clinic Health System comparing prepandemic use from August 2019 to March 2020 (baseline period 0) to two pandemic periods: March to June 2020 (period 1) when in-person visits were converted to virtual; and July to November 2020 when in-person visits resumed (period 2). Demographic characteristics were obtained including age, sex, race, insurance type, median income estimated by zip code and baseline HbA1C. The study included 76,015 patients with T2D who completed a primary care visit in baseline period 0. Cohort median age was 66.2 years, 50.7% women, 21.7% Black, 71.0% White and 7.4 Other. Insurance distribution was 43.2% private, 46.5% Medicare, and 9.5% Medicaid. Median income was estimated at $59,000 and baseline HbA1C was ≤ 7% for 59.6% of patients. There were higher odds of Black patients, those with uncontrolled T2D, and those with Medicare and Medicare using virtual visits during the 2 postpandemic periods suggesting that virtual visits may be a preference for those groups. Older and male patients had lower odds of visit completion.
AHRQ-funded; HS024128.
Citation: Misra-Hebert AD, Hu B, Pantalone KM .
Primary care health care use for patients with type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diabetes Care 2021 Sep;44(9):e173-e74. doi: 10.2337/dc21-0853..
Keywords: COVID-19, Diabetes, Primary Care, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery, Access to Care, Chronic Conditions
Mohr NM, Campbell KD, Swanson MB
Provider-to-provider telemedicine improves adherence to sepsis bundle care in community emergency departments.
Sepsis is a life-threatening emergency. Together, early recognition and intervention decreases mortality. Protocol-based resuscitation in the emergency department (ED) has improved survival in sepsis patients, but guideline-adherent care is less common in low-volume EDs. This study examined the association between provider-to-provider telemedicine and adherence with sepsis bundle components in rural community hospitals. The investigators found that telemedicine patients were more likely to receive initial blood lactate measurement, timely broad-spectrum antibiotics, and adequate fluid resuscitation.
AHRQ-funded; HS025753.
Citation: Mohr NM, Campbell KD, Swanson MB .
Provider-to-provider telemedicine improves adherence to sepsis bundle care in community emergency departments.
J Telemed Telecare 2021 Sep;27(8):518-26. doi: 10.1177/1357633x19896667..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Emergency Department, Sepsis
Carey K, Luo Q, Dor A
Quality and cost in community health centers.
This study’s objective was to explore the relationship between quality and average cost of medical visits provided in US Community Health Centers (CHCs) using composite measures of quality. The authors used the Uniform Data System collected by the Bureau of Primary Care to construct composite measures by combining 9 process and 2 outcome indicators of primary care quality provided in 1331 US CHCs during 2015-2018. They explored different weighting schemes and different combinations of individual quality indicators. They used generalized linear modeling to regress average cost of a medical visit on composite quality measures, controlling for patient and health center factors. The average cost of a medical visit was negatively associated with quality, although the magnitude of the effect varies with different weighting schemes.
AHRQ-funded; HS026816.
Citation: Carey K, Luo Q, Dor A .
Quality and cost in community health centers.
Med Care 2021 Sep;59(9):824-28. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001571.
AHRQ-funded; HS026816..
AHRQ-funded; HS026816..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Quality of Care, Healthcare Costs
Jiang HJ, Fingar KR, Liang L
AHRQ Author: Jiang HJ, Liang L
Quality of care before and after mergers and acquisitions of rural hospitals.
Researchers sought to examine changes in quality of care for patients at rural hospitals that merged compared with those that remained independent. Using HCUP data, they found that rural hospital mergers were associated with better mortality outcomes for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hip fracture, and pneumonia. They concluded that their finding is important to enhancing rural health care and reducing urban-rural disparities in quality of care.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201800001C.
Citation: Jiang HJ, Fingar KR, Liang L .
Quality of care before and after mergers and acquisitions of rural hospitals.
JAMA Netw Open 2021 Sep;4(9):e2124662. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.24662..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitals, Rural Health, Quality of Care