National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Events (1)
- Asthma (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Children/Adolescents (4)
- Chronic Conditions (2)
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (1)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (1)
- COVID-19 (3)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (2)
- Education: Patient and Caregiver (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Hospitals (7)
- (-) Inpatient Care (16)
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (1)
- Kidney Disease and Health (2)
- Low-Income (1)
- Medicaid (1)
- Medicare (1)
- Medication (2)
- Mortality (1)
- Newborns/Infants (1)
- Opioids (1)
- Outcomes (2)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (2)
- Quality of Care (5)
- Respiratory Conditions (1)
- Surgery (1)
- Teams (1)
- Transitions of Care (1)
- Uninsured (1)
- Vulnerable Populations (1)
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 16 of 16 Research Studies DisplayedSchnipper JL, Raffel KE, Keniston A
Achieving diagnostic excellence through prevention and teamwork (ADEPT) study protocol: a multicenter, prospective quality and safety program to improve diagnostic processes in medical inpatients.
This paper describes the protocol for a study that will build surveillance for hospital diagnostic errors into usual care, benchmark diagnostic performance across sites, pilot test interventions, and evaluate the program's impact on diagnostic error rates. The authors will test achieving diagnostic excellence through prevention and teamwork (ADEPT), a multicenter, real-world quality and safety program utilizing interrupted time-series techniques to evaluate outcomes. They will use a randomly sampled population of medical patients hospitalized at 16 US hospitals who died, were transferred to intensive care, or had a rapid response during the hospitalization. There will be surveillance for diagnostic errors on 10 events per month per site using a previously established two-person adjudication process. With guidance from national experts in quality and safety, study sites will report and benchmark diagnostic error rates, share lessons regarding underlying causes, and design, implement, and pilot test interventions using both Safety I and Safety II approaches aimed at patients, providers, and health systems. The primary outcome sought after will be the number of diagnostic errors per patient, using segmented multivariable regression to evaluate change in y-intercept and change in slope after initiation of the program.
AHRQ-funded; HS029366.
Citation: Schnipper JL, Raffel KE, Keniston A .
Achieving diagnostic excellence through prevention and teamwork (ADEPT) study protocol: a multicenter, prospective quality and safety program to improve diagnostic processes in medical inpatients.
J Hosp Med 2023 Dec; 18(12):1072-81. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13230..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Inpatient Care
O'Halloran A, Lockwood J, Sosa T
How do we detect and respond to clinical deterioration in hospitalized children? Results of the Pediatric Care BefOre Deterioration Events (CODE) survey.
This study’s objective was to describe systems to detect/respond to deteriorating hospitalized children at Pediatric Resuscitation Quality Collaborative (pediRES-Q) institutions. The authors performed a cross-sectional survey of pediRES-Q leaders utilizing expert validation and cognitive interviews, with 30 centers (88%) responding. Most institutions (93%) used ≥1 system to detect deterioration: most commonly, early warning scores (83%), watcher lists (55%), and proactive surveillance teams (31%). Most (90%) collect relevant data, including number of rapid responses (88%), arrests outside intensive care units (100%), and serious safety events (88%).
AHRQ-funded; HS026975.
Citation: O'Halloran A, Lockwood J, Sosa T .
How do we detect and respond to clinical deterioration in hospitalized children? Results of the Pediatric Care BefOre Deterioration Events (CODE) survey.
J Hosp Med 2023 Dec; 18(12):1102-08. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13224..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Inpatient Care
O'Leary KJ, Johnson JK, Williams MV
Effect of complementary interventions to redesign care on teamwork and quality for hospitalized medical patients: a pragmatic controlled trial.
The objective of this pragmatic controlled trial was to evaluate the effect of interventions to redesign hospital care delivery on teamwork and patient outcomes. Survey participants were healthcare professionals and hospitalized medical patients in medical units at four U.S. hospitals. The results showed that the median teamwork climate score was higher after the intervention among nurses, but that interventions to redesign care for hospitalized patients were not associated with improved patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS02564.
Citation: O'Leary KJ, Johnson JK, Williams MV .
Effect of complementary interventions to redesign care on teamwork and quality for hospitalized medical patients: a pragmatic controlled trial.
Ann Intern Med 2023 Nov; 176(11):1456-64. doi: 10.7326/m23-0953..
Keywords: Teams, Inpatient Care, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Outcomes
Kieren MQ, Kelly MM, Garcia MA
Parent experiences with the process of sharing inpatient safety concerns for children with medical complexity: a qualitative analysis.
The objective of this study was to describe the process of identifying and reporting inpatient safety concerns from the perspective of parents of children with medical complexity (CMC). Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with English and Spanish-speaking parents of CMC at two tertiary children's hospitals. The parents described a multi-step process of reporting their safety concerns and a spectrum of staff response and validation. The researchers concluded that their findings could inform family-centered interventions that support safety concern reporting in the inpatient setting.
AHRQ-funded; HS025781.
Citation: Kieren MQ, Kelly MM, Garcia MA .
Parent experiences with the process of sharing inpatient safety concerns for children with medical complexity: a qualitative analysis.
Acad Pediatr 2023 Nov-Dec; 23(8):1535-41. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.06.008..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Patient Safety, Inpatient Care, Chronic Conditions
Lefrak L, Schaffer KE, Bohnert J
Blood culture procedures and practices in the neonatal intensive care unit: a survey of a large multicenter collaborative in California.
The objective of this Web-based survey was to describe variation in bedside and laboratory-level blood culture practices in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Participants were 28 NICUs in an antimicrobial stewardship quality improvement program in the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative. Results showed that recommended practices for blood culturing were not routinely performed. Most NICUs did not have a procedural competency, did not document sample volume, did not receive a culture contamination report, and/or did not require reporting to the provider if less than 1 mL of blood was drawn. Skin asepsis procedure varied across NICUs.
AHRQ-funded; HS026168.
Citation: Lefrak L, Schaffer KE, Bohnert J .
Blood culture procedures and practices in the neonatal intensive care unit: a survey of a large multicenter collaborative in California.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023 Oct; 44(10):1576=81. doi: 10.1017/ice.2023.33..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Inpatient Care, Quality of Care
Aklilu AM, Kumar S, Yamamoto Y
Outcomes associated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor use in acute heart failure hospitalizations complicated by AKI.
This retrospective study examined the association of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use with patients who have KDIGO-defined acute kidney injury (AKI) during acute heart failure (AHF) hospitalizations and their kidney function recovery at 14 days and 30 days using time-varying multivariable Cox-regression analyses. The study looked at 3305 adults hospitalized across 5 Yale New Haven Health Systems between January 2020 and May 2022 with AHF complicated by KDIGO-defined AKI. Of those individuals hospitalized with AHF and AKI, 356 received SGLT2i following AKI diagnosis either as initiation or continuation. The rate of renal recovery was not significantly different among those exposed and unexposed to SGLT2i following AKI (adjusted HR 0.94). SGLT2i exposure was associated with lower risk of 30-day mortality (adjusted HR 0.45). Rates of renal recovery were similar between the exposed and nonexposed cohorts regardless of the proximity of SGLT2i exposure to AKI diagnosis.
AHRQ-funded; HS027626.
Citation: Aklilu AM, Kumar S, Yamamoto Y .
Outcomes associated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor use in acute heart failure hospitalizations complicated by AKI.
Kidney360 2023 Oct; 4(10):1371-81. doi: 10.34067/kid.0000000000000250..
Keywords: Kidney Disease and Health, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Inpatient Care, Medication, Outcomes
Smith K, Padmanabhan P, Chen A
The impacts of the 340B Program on health care quality for low-income patients.
This study’s objective was to assess the effects of hospital 340B eligibility on quality of inpatient care provided to Medicaid and uninsured patients and for all patients. HCUP State Inpatient Data, Hospital Cost Reporting Information System Data, Office of Pharmacy Affairs Information System Data, and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey were all used to extract inpatient data from general acute care hospitals from 2008 to 2014 in 15 states. Data was linked on hospital 340B eligibility and participation. The authors did not find discontinuities in inpatient care quality across the Program eligibility threshold for Medicaid and uninsured patients; specifically, on all-cause mortality, 30-day readmission rates, or other measures. Among insured and non-Medicaid patients, they found discontinuities for acute myocardial infarction and postoperative sepsis mortality.
AHRQ-funded; HS026980.
Citation: Smith K, Padmanabhan P, Chen A .
The impacts of the 340B Program on health care quality for low-income patients.
Health Serv Res 2023 Oct; 58(5):1089-97. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14204..
Keywords: Low-Income, Hospitals, Vulnerable Populations, Medicaid, Uninsured, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care
Menez S, Coca Moledina, Moledina DG
Evaluation of plasma biomarkers to predict major adverse kidney events in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
There is an increased risk for major adverse kidney events (MAKE) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to identify plasma biomarkers predictive of MAKE in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The study found that in total, 95 patients (16%) experienced MAKE. Each 1 SD increase in soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNFR1) and sTNFR2 was significantly associated with an increased risk of MAKE. A limitation of the study was a lack of control group of hospitalized patients without COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS027626.
Citation: Menez S, Coca Moledina, Moledina DG .
Evaluation of plasma biomarkers to predict major adverse kidney events in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Am J Kidney Dis 2023 Sep; 82(3):322-32.e1. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2023.03.010..
Keywords: COVID-19, Kidney Disease and Health, Inpatient Care
Chen JT, Mehrizi R, Aasman B
Long short-term memory model identifies ARDS and in-hospital mortality in both non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 cohort.
The objective of this study was to identify risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and in-hospital mortality using a long short-term memory (LSTM) framework in mechanically ventilated (MV) COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cohorts. The results indicated that the LSTM algorithm accurately identified the risk of ARDS or death in both non-COVID-19 and COVID MV patients. The researchers concluded that a tool that alerts to the risk of ARDS or death can improve the implementation of evidence-based ARDS management and facilitate goals-of-care discussions involving high-risk patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS026188.
Citation: Chen JT, Mehrizi R, Aasman B .
Long short-term memory model identifies ARDS and in-hospital mortality in both non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 cohort.
BMJ Health Care Inform 2023 Sep; 30(1). doi: 10.1136/bmjhci-2023-100782..
Keywords: COVID-19, Mortality, Hospitals, Inpatient Care
Rolfzen ML, Wick A, Mascha EJ
Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial.
This study tested the hypothesis that a decision-support tool embedded in electronic health records (EHRs) leads clinicians to prescribe fewer opioids at discharge after inpatient surgery. Over 21,000 surgical inpatient discharges in a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial in four Colorado hospitals were included. The results indicated that within the context of vigorous opioid education and awareness efforts a decision-support tool incorporated into EHRs did not reduce discharge opioid prescribing for postoperative patients. The authors concluded that opioid prescribing alerts might be valuable in other contexts.
AHRQ-funded; HS027795.
Citation: Rolfzen ML, Wick A, Mascha EJ .
Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial.
Anesthesiology 2023 Aug 1; 139(2):186-96. doi: 10.1097/aln.0000000000004607..
Keywords: Opioids, Medication, Surgery, Inpatient Care, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Volerman A, Balachandran U, Zhu M
Evaluating inhaler education interventions for hospitalized children with asthma: a randomized controlled trial.
The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the technology-based intervention-Virtual Teach-to-Goal (V-TTG) could lead to less inhaler misuse among children hospitalized with asthma. A single-center randomized controlled trial of V-TTG vs brief intervention was conducted with children aged 5-10 with asthma. At baseline, nearly all children misused inhalers; inhaler misuse decreased significantly in both V-TTG and brief intervention. The researchers suggested that future studies evaluate V-TTG intervention across diverse populations and disease severities to identify its greatest impact.
AHRQ-funded; HS027804.
Citation: Volerman A, Balachandran U, Zhu M .
Evaluating inhaler education interventions for hospitalized children with asthma: a randomized controlled trial.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2023 Aug; 131(2):217-23.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2023.02.023..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Asthma, Respiratory Conditions, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Inpatient Care
Faerber JA, Xiao R, Makeneni S
Sustainment of continuous pulse oximetry deimplementation: analysis of eliminating monitor overuse study data from six hospitals.
The purpose of this longitudinal analysis from the Eliminating Monitor Overuse (EMO) study was to evaluate changes in continuous pulse oximetry cSpO(2) overuse before, during, and after intensive cSpO(2) -deimplementation efforts in six hospitals. The researchers collected monitoring data during three phases of the study: 1) "P1" baseline, 2) "P2" active deimplementation (all sites involved in education and audit and feedback strategies), and 3) "P3" sustainment (a new baseline measured after strategies were withdrawn). 2,053 observations were analyzed. The study found that each hospital experienced reductions during active deimplementation (P2), with overall adjusted cSpO(2) overuse decreasing from 53% to 22%, between P1 and P2. However, following the withdrawal of deimplementation strategies, overuse rebounded in all six sites, with overall adjusted cSpO(2) overuse increasing to 37% in P3.
AHRQ-funded; HS026763.
Citation: Faerber JA, Xiao R, Makeneni S .
Sustainment of continuous pulse oximetry deimplementation: analysis of eliminating monitor overuse study data from six hospitals.
J Hosp Med 2023 Aug; 18(8):724-29. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13154..
Keywords: Hospitals, Inpatient Care
Trenaman L, Harrison M, Hoch JS
Medicare beneficiaries' perspectives on the quality of hospital care and their implications for value-based payment.
The objective of this study was to estimate the relative importance of the 4 quality domains in the Medicare's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program from the perspective of Medicare beneficiaries and the impact of using beneficiary value weights on incentive payments for hospitals enrolled in FY 2019. A nationally representative sample of 1025 Medicare beneficiaries was recruited through Ipsos KnowledgePanel for an online survey. Hospital performance on clinical outcomes was most highly valued by beneficiaries, followed by safety, patient experience, and efficiency. The authors concluded that current HVBP program value weights do not reflect beneficiary preferences, suggesting that the use of beneficiary value weights may exacerbate disparities by rewarding larger, high-volume hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS027853.
Citation: Trenaman L, Harrison M, Hoch JS .
Medicare beneficiaries' perspectives on the quality of hospital care and their implications for value-based payment.
JAMA Netw Open 2023 Jun; 6(6):e2319047. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.19047..
Keywords: Medicare, Inpatient Care, Hospitals
Auerbach AD, Astik GJ, O'Leary KJ
Prevalence and causes of diagnostic errors in hospitalized patients under investigation for COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians were required to address a disease with continuously changing traits while simultaneously complying with changes in care (e.g., physical distancing) that could contribute to diagnostic errors (DEs). The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of DEs and their causes in patients hospitalized under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19. The researchers randomly selected up to 8 cases per site per month for evaluation, with each case evaluated by two clinicians to determine whether a DE occurred, and whether any diagnostic process faults took place. The study found that wo hundred and fifty-seven patient charts were evaluated, of which 14% contained a DE. Patients with and without DE were statistically similar in socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, risk factors for COVID-19, and COVID-19 test turnaround time and eventual positivity. The most common diagnostic process issues contributing to DE were problems with clinical assessment, testing choices, history taking, and physical examination. Diagnostic process issues related with COVID-19 policies and procedures were not related with DE risk. 35.9% of patients with errors and 5.4% of patients overall suffered harm or death due to diagnostic error.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369.
Citation: Auerbach AD, Astik GJ, O'Leary KJ .
Prevalence and causes of diagnostic errors in hospitalized patients under investigation for COVID-19.
J Gen Intern Med 2023 Jun; 38(8):1902-10. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08176-6..
Keywords: COVID-19, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care
Kuzma N, Khan A, Rickey L
Effect of Patient and Family Centered I-PASS on adverse event rates in hospitalized children with complex chronic conditions.
This study’s objective was to compare the effect of the intervention Patient and Family Centered (PFC)I-PASS on adverse events (AE) rates in children with and without complex chronic conditions (CCCs). A cohort of 3106 hospitalized children from seven North American pediatric hospitals between December 2014 and January 2017 were included. An effect modification analysis did not show difference in the intervention on children with and without CCCs. There was no statistically significant change in AEs for children with or without CCCs.
AHRQ-funded; HS022986.
Citation: Kuzma N, Khan A, Rickey L .
Effect of Patient and Family Centered I-PASS on adverse event rates in hospitalized children with complex chronic conditions.
J Hosp Med 2023 Apr;18(4):316-20. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13065.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Chronic Conditions, Adverse Events, Inpatient Care, Transitions of Care
Martino SC, Reynolds KA, Grob R
Evaluation of a protocol for eliciting narrative accounts of pediatric inpatient experiences of care.
This study’s objective was to evaluate the measurement properties of a set of six items designed to elicit narrative accounts of pediatric inpatient experience. This cross-sectional survey with follow-up phone interviews used data from 163 participants recruited from a probability-based online panel of US adults. Eligible participants were family members of a child who had an overnight hospital stay in the past 12 months. Participants completed an online (n = 129) or phone (n = 34) survey about their child's hospitalization experience that contained closed-ended items from the Child HCAHPS Survey followed by the six narrative items. About two weeks after completing the survey, 47 participants additionally completed a one-hour, semi-structured phone interview, the results of which served as a "gold standard" for evaluating the fidelity of narrative responses. The average narrative was 248 words, with 79% of narratives mentioning a topic included on the Child HCAHPS survey; 89% mentioning a topic not covered by that survey; 75% including at least one detailed description of an actionable event. Overall, there was a 66% correspondence between narrative and interview responses, with higher correspondence in the phone than in the online condition (75% vs. 59%).
AHRQ-funded; HS025920; HS016978.
Citation: Martino SC, Reynolds KA, Grob R .
Evaluation of a protocol for eliciting narrative accounts of pediatric inpatient experiences of care.
Health Serv Res 2023 Apr;58(2):271-81. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14134.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Inpatient Care