National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Events (4)
- Children/Adolescents (2)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
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- Elderly (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (1)
- Emergency Department (1)
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- Nursing (2)
- Outcomes (1)
- Pain (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (1)
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- Provider Performance (2)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (7)
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- (-) Quality of Care (23)
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- Risk (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 23 of 23 Research Studies DisplayedNewman-Toker DE, Nassery N, Schaffer AC
Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA.
Americans who experience serious harm from misdiagnosis annually. Serious harm is defined as permanent morbidity or morality. This cross-sectional analysis used nationally representative observational data. The authors estimated annual incident vascular events and infections from 21.5 million (M) sampled US hospital discharges (2012-2014). US-based cancer registries were used to find annual new cancers. They derived diagnostic errors and serious harms by multiplying by literature-based rates for disease-specific incidences for 15 major vascular events, infections and cancers ('Big Three' categories). Extrapolating to all diseases (including non-'Big Three' dangerous disease categories), they estimated total serious harms annually in the USA to be 795,000 (plausible range 598,000-1,023,000). Using more conservative assumptions they estimated 549,000 serious harms. These results were compatible with setting-specific serious harm estimates from inpatient, emergency department and ambulatory care. Fifteen dangerous diseases accounted for 50.7% of total serious harms and the top 5 (stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism and lung cancer) accounted for 38.7%.
AHRQ-funded; HS027614; HS029350.
Citation: Newman-Toker DE, Nassery N, Schaffer AC .
Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA.
BMJ Qual Saf 2024 Jan 19; 33(2):109-20. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2021-014130..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Adverse Events
Lake ET, Staiger D, Smith JG
The association of missed nursing care with very low birthweight infant outcomes.
This study examined the association of missed nursing care and health outcomes of very low birthweight (VLBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The authors used 2016 hospital administrative discharge abstracts for VLBW newborns (n = 7,595) and NICU registered nurse survey responses (n = 6,963) from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators. Mortality, morbidity, and length of stay (LOS) was examined in 190 sample hospitals from 19 states in all regions. There was a significant association between higher odds of bloodstream infection and longer LOS, but not mortality or severe intraventricular hemorrhage and missed nursing care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024918.
Citation: Lake ET, Staiger D, Smith JG .
The association of missed nursing care with very low birthweight infant outcomes.
Med Care Res Rev 2023 Jun; 80(3):293-302. doi: 10.1177/10775587221150950..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Quality Indicators (QIs), Nursing, Newborns/Infants, Outcomes, Healthcare Utilization, Quality of Care
Hegland TA, Owens PL, Selden TM
AHRQ Author: Hegland TA, Owens PL, Selden TM
New evidence on geographic disparities in United States hospital capacity.
The purpose of this study was to describe hospital capacity across the United States. The researchers combined American Hospital Association Survey, Hospital Compare, and American Community Survey data with the 2017 near-census of U.S. hospital inpatient discharges from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The study found that 0.11 more beds per 1000 population were supplied to zip codes where Non-Hispanic individuals live than zip codes where non-Hispanic White individuals live. However, the hospitals supplying this capacity have 0.36 fewer staff per bed and perform worse on many care quality measures. Zip codes in the most urban parts of America have the least hospital capacity (2.11 beds per 1000 persons) from across the rural-urban continuum. While more rural areas have higher capacity levels, urban areas have advantages in staff and capital per bed. The researchers did not find systematic differences in care quality between rural and urban areas. The study concluded that lower hospital care quality and resource intensity plays a key role in racial, ethnic, and income disparities in hospital care related outcomes.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Hegland TA, Owens PL, Selden TM .
New evidence on geographic disparities in United States hospital capacity.
Health Serv Res 2022 Oct;57(5):1006-19. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14010..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Disparities, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Waters TM, Burns N, Kaplan CM
Combined impact of medicare's hospital pay for performance programs on quality and safety outcomes is mixed.
The authors examined the combined impact of Medicare's pay for performance (P4P) programs on clinical areas and populations targeted by the programs, as well as those outside their focus. Using HCUP data, and consistent with previous studies for individual programs, they detected minimal, if any, effect of Medicare's hospital P4P programs on quality and safety. They recommended a redesigning of the P4P programs before continuing to expand them.
AHRQ-funded; HS025148.
Citation: Waters TM, Burns N, Kaplan CM .
Combined impact of medicare's hospital pay for performance programs on quality and safety outcomes is mixed.
BMC Health Serv Res 2022 Jul 28;22(1):958. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08348-w..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Medicare, Payment, Provider Performance, Hospitals, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Safety
Zrelak PA, Utter GH, McDonald KM
Incorporating harms into the weighting of the revised Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety for Selected Indicators Composite (Patient Safety Indicator 90).
The purpose of this study was to reweight AHRQ’s Patient Safety for Selected Indicators Composite (Patient Safety Indicator 90) from weights based solely on the frequency of component Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) to those that incorporate excess harm reflecting patients' preferences for outcome-related health states. Findings showed that including harms in the weighting scheme changed individual component weights from the original frequency-based weighting. In the reweighted composite, PSIs 11, 13, and 12 contributed the greatest harm. The investigators concluded that reformulation of PSI 90 with harm-based weights is feasible and results in satisfactory reliability and discrimination.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201200003I.
Citation: Zrelak PA, Utter GH, McDonald KM .
Incorporating harms into the weighting of the revised Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety for Selected Indicators Composite (Patient Safety Indicator 90).
Health Serv Res 2022 Jun;57(3):654-67. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13918..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Adverse Events, Medicare
Murphy PB, Oslock WM, Ingraham AM
Quality of care for gallstone pancreatitis-the impact of the acute care surgery model and hospital-level operative resources.
This study aimed to determine the influence of structure and process related to operating room access on achieving index cholecystectomy for gallstone pancreatitis. In 2015, 2811 US hospitals on acute care surgery practices were surveyed, including infrastructure for operative access, with 1690 hospitals (60%) responding. The authors identified patients ≥ 18 years who were admitted with gallstone pancreatitis. Over the study period, 5656 patients were admitted with gallstone pancreatitis, and 70% had an index cholecystectomy. High-performing hospitals had an index cholecystectomy rate of 84.1%, compared to 58.5% at low-performing hospitals. High-performing hospitals were associated with teaching, and access to dedicated daytime operative resources.
AHRQ-funded; HS022694.
Citation: Murphy PB, Oslock WM, Ingraham AM .
Quality of care for gallstone pancreatitis-the impact of the acute care surgery model and hospital-level operative resources.
J Gastrointest Surg 2022 Apr;26(4):849-60. doi: 10.1007/s11605-021-05145-4..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Surgery, Quality of Care
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
Jacobs PD, Basu J
AHRQ Author: Jacobs PD, Basu J
Medicare Advantage and postdischarge quality: evidence from hospital readmissions.
This study compared relative readmission rates for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) and traditional Medicare (TM). HCUP State Inpatient Databases data for 4 states was used from 2009 and 2014. The outcome compared was the probability of a hospital readmission within 30 days of an index admission. There were significantly lower all-cause readmission rates among MA enrollees relative to those in TM in both 2009 and 2014, but MA enrollment was not associated with an increased reduction in readmission rates relative to TM during that time period.
AHRQ-authored
Citation: Jacobs PD, Basu J .
Medicare Advantage and postdischarge quality: evidence from hospital readmissions.
Am J Manag Care 2020 Dec;26(12):524-29. doi: 10.37765/ajmc.2020.88540..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Elderly, Medicare, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Provider Performance
Montalbano A, Quinonez RA, Hall M
Achievable benchmarks of care for pediatric readmissions.
This study’s objective was to calculate mean readmission rates and the Achievable Benchmarks of Care (ABCs) for pediatric diagnoses by different hospital types: metropolitan teaching, metropolitan nonteaching, and nonmetropolitan hospitals. The authors used a cross-sectional retrospective study of 30-day, all-cause same-hospital readmission of patients less than 18 years of age using the 2014 HCUP National Readmission Database. They calculated mean readmission and corresponding ABCs for the 17 most common readmission diagnosis. They found that sickle cell disease (SCD), bipolar and major depressive disorders were the most common reasons for readmission.
AHRQ-funded; HS024554.
Citation: Montalbano A, Quinonez RA, Hall M .
Achievable benchmarks of care for pediatric readmissions.
J Hosp Med 2019 Sep;14(9):534-40. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3201..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Children/Adolescents, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Quality of Care
Henke RM, Karaca Z, Moore B
AHRQ Author: Karaca Z, Wong HS
Impact of health system affiliation on hospital resource use intensity and quality of care.
This study assessed the impact of hospital affiliation, centralization, and managed care plan ownership on inpatient cost and quality. It found that hospitals affiliated with health systems had a higher cost per discharge and better quality of care compared with independent hospitals. Centralized systems in particular had the highest cost per discharge and longest stays. Independent hospitals with managed care plans had a higher cost per discharge.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Henke RM, Karaca Z, Moore B .
Impact of health system affiliation on hospital resource use intensity and quality of care.
Health Serv Res 2018 Feb;53(1):63-86. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12631..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Quality of Care, Health Systems, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitals
Cutler E, Karaca Z, Henke R
AHRQ Author: Karaca Z, Wong HS
The effects of Medicare accountable organizations on inpatient mortality rates.
This study examined whether Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have improved hospital quality of care, specifically focusing on preventable inpatient mortality. The investigators concluded that, on average, Medicare ACO hospitals are not associated with improved mortality rates for the studied inpatient quality indicator conditions. They suggest that stakeholders may potentially consider providing ACOs with incentives or designing new programs for ACOs to target inpatient mortality reductions.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Cutler E, Karaca Z, Henke R .
The effects of Medicare accountable organizations on inpatient mortality rates.
Inquiry 2018 Jan-Dec;55:46958018800092. doi: 10.1177/0046958018800092..
Keywords: Quality of Care, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitals, Medicare, Mortality
Popescu I, Heslin KC, Coffey RM
AHRQ Author: Heslin KC, Washington RE
Differences in use of high-quality and low-quality hospitals among working-age individuals by insurance type.
This study found that compared with patients who have private insurance, those with Medicaid or no insurance were more likely to be minorities and to reside in areas with low-socioeconomic status. The probability of admission to high-quality hospitals was similar for patients with Medicaid (23.3 percent) and private insurance (23.0 percent) but was significantly lower for patients without insurance (19.8 percent) compared with the other 2 insurance groups.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Popescu I, Heslin KC, Coffey RM .
Differences in use of high-quality and low-quality hospitals among working-age individuals by insurance type.
Med Care 2017 Feb;55(2):148-54. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000633.
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Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Health Insurance, Disparities, Quality of Care, Hospitals
Campione JR, Smith SA, Mardon RE
Hospital-level factors related to 30-day readmission rates.
This study investigates the relationship between inpatient quality of care as measured by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) patient safety indicator (PSI) composite and all-cause, hospital-wide, 30-day readmission rates. It concluded that inpatient quality of care appears to have less influence on hospital readmission rates than do clinical and socioeconomic factors.
AHRQ-funded; 290201200003I.
Citation: Campione JR, Smith SA, Mardon RE .
Hospital-level factors related to 30-day readmission rates.
Am J Med Qual 2017 Jan/Feb;32(1):48-57. doi: 10.1177/1062860615612158.
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Keywords: Quality of Care, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospital Readmissions, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Gounder PP, Seeman SM, Holman RC
AHRQ Author: Steiner CA
Potentially preventable hospitalizations for acute and chronic conditions in Alaska, 2010-2012.
The Healthy Alaska 2020 initiative (HA2020) targeted reducing potentially preventable hospitalizations (PPH) for acute and chronic conditions among its health indicators. This study found that among 127,371 total hospitalizations, 4,911 and 6,721 were for acute and chronic PPH conditions, respectively. The overall crude PPH rate was 7.3 (3.1 for acute and 4.2 for chronic conditions).
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Gounder PP, Seeman SM, Holman RC .
Potentially preventable hospitalizations for acute and chronic conditions in Alaska, 2010-2012.
Prev Med Rep 2016 Dec;4:614-21. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.03.017.
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Keywords: Hospitalization, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Quality Indicators (QIs), Chronic Conditions, Quality of Care
Hernandez-Boussard TM, McDonald KM, Morrison DE
Risks of adverse events in colorectal patients: population-based study.
The authors sought to assess adverse events in colorectal surgical patients. They found important differential rates of adverse events by diagnostic category, with the highest odds ratio occurring in patients undergoing surgery for ischemic colitis.
AHRQ-funded; HS018558.
Citation: Hernandez-Boussard TM, McDonald KM, Morrison DE .
Risks of adverse events in colorectal patients: population-based study.
J Surg Res 2016 May 15;202(2):328-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2016.01.013.
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Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Adverse Events, Surgery, Patient Safety, Risk, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care, Quality Measures
Yanamadala S, Morrison D, Curtin C
Electronic health records and quality of care: an observational study modeling impact on mortality, readmissions, and complications.
The authors assessed the relationship between electronic health records (EHR) adoption and patient outcomes. Their results indicate that patients receiving medical and surgical care at hospitals with no EHR system have similar outcomes compared to patients seeking care at hospitals with a full EHR system. They concluded that EHRs may play a smaller role than expected in patient outcomes and overall quality of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024096.
Citation: Yanamadala S, Morrison D, Curtin C .
Electronic health records and quality of care: an observational study modeling impact on mortality, readmissions, and complications.
Medicine (Baltimore) 2016 May;95(19):e3332. doi: 10.1097/md.0000000000003332.
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Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality of Care, Mortality, Hospitals
Moy E, Coffey RM, Moore BJ
AHRQ Author: Moy E
Length of stay in EDs: variation across classifications of clinical condition and patient discharge disposition.
The researchers used a census of one state's data to measure length of emergency departments stays by patients' conditions and dispositions and exlore differences between means and medians as quality metrics. For the 10 most common diagnoses, patients with relatively minor injuries typically required the shortest mean stay (3 hours or less); conditions resulting in admission or transfer tended to be more serious, resulting in longer stays.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Moy E, Coffey RM, Moore BJ .
Length of stay in EDs: variation across classifications of clinical condition and patient discharge disposition.
Am J Emerg Med 2016 Jan;34(1):83-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2015.09.031..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Emergency Department, Quality Measures, Hospitalization, Quality of Care
Mukamel DB, Ladd H, Li Y
AHRQ Author: Ngo-Metzger Q
Have racial disparities in ambulatory care sensitive admissions abated over time?
The researchers evaluated whether disparities in quality of ambulatory care have abated during the decade of 2000 by asking whether there were there differences in ambulatory care sensitive hospital admissions rates by race? In 2003 the overall Prevention Quality Indicators (PQI) admission rates were higher for African Americans (around 16.5/1000) than for whites (around 15/1000). By 2009, the overall and the chronic PQI admission rates declined significantly for whites but not for African Americans.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Mukamel DB, Ladd H, Li Y .
Have racial disparities in ambulatory care sensitive admissions abated over time?
Med Care 2015 Nov;53(11):931-9. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000426..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Disparities, Quality Indicators (QIs), Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Quality of Care
Berry JG, Zaslavsky AM, Toomey SL
Recognizing differences in hospital quality performance for pediatric inpatient care.
This study was a retrospective analysis of hospital discharges for children aged 0 to 17 years from 3,974 hospitals in 44 states in the 2009 Kids’ Inpatient Database. It found that most children are admitted to hospitals in which all-condition measures of quality have adequate power to show modest differences in performance from average, but most condition-specific measures do not.
AHRQ-funded; HS020513.
Citation: Berry JG, Zaslavsky AM, Toomey SL .
Recognizing differences in hospital quality performance for pediatric inpatient care.
Pediatrics 2015 Aug;136(2):251-62. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-3131..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Children/Adolescents, Hospitalization, Quality of Care
Singh JA, Ramachandran R
Does hospital volume predict outcomes and complications after total shoulder arthroplasty in the US?
The researchers assessed the association of hospital procedure volume for total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) with patient outcomes and complications. They found that, compared to low volume hospitals (<5, 5–9, or 10–14 procedures annually), patients receiving TSA at higher volume hospitals (15–24 or ‡25 procedures annually) had significantly lower likelihood of being discharged to an inpatient medical facility.
AHRQ-funded; HS021110.
Citation: Singh JA, Ramachandran R .
Does hospital volume predict outcomes and complications after total shoulder arthroplasty in the US?
Arthritis Care Res 2015 May;67(6):885-90. doi: 10.1002/acr.22507..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
Martsolf GR, Auerbach D, Benevent R
AHRQ Author: Stocks C, Jiang HJ
Examining the value of inpatient nurse staffing: an assessment of quality and patient care costs.
The authors assessed the effect of nurse staffing on quality of care and inpatient care costs. They found that increases in nurse staffing levels were associated with reductions in nursing-sensitive adverse events and length of stay, while changing skill mix by increasing the number of registered nurses, as a proportion of licensed nursing staff, led to reductions in costs.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290200600009C.
Citation: Martsolf GR, Auerbach D, Benevent R .
Examining the value of inpatient nurse staffing: an assessment of quality and patient care costs.
Med Care 2014 Nov;52(11):982-8. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000248.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Quality of Care, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Inpatient Care, Nursing
Curtin CM, Hernandez-Boussard T
Readmissions after treatment of distal radius fractures.
The authors assessed the rates and associated diagnoses of readmissions for patients having received an intervention for treatment of distal radius fracture. Using AHRQ data sets, they found that many distal radius fracture patients return to the health care system for pain-related issues, and they recommended implementation of better pain management.
AHRQ-funded; HS018558.
Citation: Curtin CM, Hernandez-Boussard T .
Readmissions after treatment of distal radius fractures.
J Hand Surg Am 2014 Oct;39(10):1926-32. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2014.07.041.
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Keywords: Injuries and Wounds, Quality of Care, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Pain, Hospital Readmissions
Paez K, Roper RA, Andrews RM
AHRQ Author: Roper RA, Andrews RM
Health information technology and hospital patient safety: a conceptual model to guide research.
The authors developed a conceptual model to guide research in sorting out the complex relationships between health information technology (HIT) and the quality and safety of care. They found the model difficult to operationalize because available HIT adoption data did not characterize features and extent of usage, and patient safety measures did not elucidate the process failures leading to safety-related outcomes. Their findings illustrated the critical need for collecting data that are germane to HIT and the possible mechanisms by which HIT may affect inpatient safety.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded.
Citation: Paez K, Roper RA, Andrews RM .
Health information technology and hospital patient safety: a conceptual model to guide research.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2013 Sep;39(9):415-25.
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Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Quality of Care, Patient Safety