National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Adverse Events (5)
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- Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (2)
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- (-) Quality Indicators (QIs) (25)
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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 25 of 25 Research Studies DisplayedKanzaria HK, Hall MK, Moore CL
Emergency department diagnostic imaging: the journey to quality.
The authors examine the current state of quality measurement as it pertains to ED imaging. They also review relevant policies and discuss both the associated challenges and the facilitators of using quality measures to help optimize ED imaging. Understanding such factors will help ensure the delivery of diagnostic imaging that is appropriate, high-quality, and patient-centered.
AHRQ-funded; HS023498.
Citation: Kanzaria HK, Hall MK, Moore CL .
Emergency department diagnostic imaging: the journey to quality.
Acad Emerg Med 2015 Dec;22(12):1380-4. doi: 10.1111/acem.12817.
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Keywords: Emergency Department, Imaging, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care
Rajaram R, Ju MH, Bilimoria KY
National evaluation of hospital readmission after pulmonary resection.
The study’s objectives were to (1) assess readmission rates and timing after pulmonary resection, (2) report the most common reasons for rehospitalization, and (3) identify risk factors for unplanned readmission after pulmonary resection. It found that experiencing a postoperative complication was strongly associated with unplanned readmission.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078.
Citation: Rajaram R, Ju MH, Bilimoria KY .
National evaluation of hospital readmission after pulmonary resection.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2015 Dec;150(6):1508-14.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2015.05.047..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Risk, Surgery, Quality Indicators (QIs), Adverse Events
Morgans AK, van Bommel AC, Stowell C
Development of a standardized set of patient-centered outcomes for advanced prostate cancer: an international effort for a unified approach.
The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement assembled a multidisciplinary working group to develop a standard set of outcomes relevant to men with advanced prostate cancer to follow during routine clinical care. The international multidisciplinary group identified clinical data and patient-reported outcome measures that serve as a basis for international health outcome comparisons and quality-of-care assessments. The set will be revised annually.
AHRQ-funded; HS022990.
Citation: Morgans AK, van Bommel AC, Stowell C .
Development of a standardized set of patient-centered outcomes for advanced prostate cancer: an international effort for a unified approach.
Eur Urol 2015 Nov;68(5):891-8. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2015.06.007.
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Keywords: Cancer: Prostate Cancer, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality of Life, Adverse Events, Quality Indicators (QIs)
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
Litvin CB, Ornstein SM, Wessell AM
"Meaningful" clinical quality measures for primary care physicians.
The authors systematically solicited recommendations from Meaningful Use (MU) exemplars to inform Stage 3 MU clinical quality measure (CQM) requirements. There was consensus that CQMs should be evidence-based and focus on high-priority conditions relevant to primary care providers. Participants thought the emphasis of CQMs should largely be on outcomes and that reporting of CQMs should limit the burden on providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS022701; HS018984.
Citation: Litvin CB, Ornstein SM, Wessell AM .
"Meaningful" clinical quality measures for primary care physicians.
Am J Manag Care 2015 Oct;21(10):e583-90..
Keywords: Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Primary Care, Quality of Care
Khan A, Nakamura MM, Zaslavsky AM
Same-hospital readmission rates as a measure of pediatric quality of care.
This study determined the prevalence of 30-day pediatric different hospital readmission (DHRs); to assess the effect of DHR on readmission performance; and to identify patient and hospital characteristics associated with DHR. It concluded that DHRs differentially affect hospitals’ pediatric readmission rates and anticipated performance, making same-hospital readmissions an incomplete surrogate for all-hospital readmissions—particularly for certain hospital types.
AHRQ-funded; HS000063; HS020513.
Citation: Khan A, Nakamura MM, Zaslavsky AM .
Same-hospital readmission rates as a measure of pediatric quality of care.
JAMA Pediatr 2015 Oct;169(10):905-12. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1129..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Quality of Care, Hospital Readmissions, Quality Indicators (QIs), Children/Adolescents
Mukamel DB, Ye Z, Glance LG
Does mandating nursing home participation in quality reporting make a difference? Evidence from Massachusetts.
This study investigated one of the mechanisms that may detract from the effectiveness of quality report cards: voluntary versus mandatory participation of nursing homes in public quality reporting. It found that once reporting became mandatory, nonvolunteers improved more than volunteers in all but 2 staffing measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS021844.
Citation: Mukamel DB, Ye Z, Glance LG .
Does mandating nursing home participation in quality reporting make a difference? Evidence from Massachusetts.
Med Care 2015 Aug;53(8):713-9. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000390..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Public Reporting, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Elderly
Goldman LE, Chu PW, Bacchetti P
Effect of present-on-admission (POA) reporting accuracy on hospital performance assessments using risk-adjusted mortality.
This study evaluated how the accuracy of present-on-admission (POA) reporting affects hospital 30-day acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality assessments. It finds that the use of POA indicators in administrative data significantly alters risk-adjusted hospital assessments that do not incorporate a method for distinguishing between comorbidities and complications.
AHRQ-funded; HS018090.
Citation: Goldman LE, Chu PW, Bacchetti P .
Effect of present-on-admission (POA) reporting accuracy on hospital performance assessments using risk-adjusted mortality.
Health Serv Res 2015 Jun;50(3):922-38. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12239.
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Keywords: Hospitals, Mortality, Heart Disease and Health, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Smith B, McDuff J, Naierman N
What consumers want to know about quality when choosing a hospice provider.
This study drew on focus group and survey data collected in 5 metropolitan areas to learn more about hospice quality data. The researchers found that participants placed top priority on measures related to pain and symptom management. The National Quality Forum-approved measures resonate well with consumers, who also appear to be ready for access to data on the quality of hospice providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS021870.
Citation: Smith B, McDuff J, Naierman N .
What consumers want to know about quality when choosing a hospice provider.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2015 Jun;32(4):393-400. doi: 10.1177/1049909114524475.
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Keywords: Caregiving, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Decision Making, Palliative Care, Provider Performance, Public Reporting, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Sjoding MW, Iwashyna TJ, Dimick JB
Gaming hospital-level pneumonia 30-day mortality and readmission measures by legitimate changes to diagnostic coding.
The researchers sought to determine the degree to which hospitals can game mortality or readmission measures and change their rankings by recoding patients with pneumonia. They concluded that hospitals can improve apparent pneumonia mortality and readmission rates by recoding pneumonia patients. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should consider changes to their methods used to calculate hospital-level pneumonia outcome measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS020672.
Citation: Sjoding MW, Iwashyna TJ, Dimick JB .
Gaming hospital-level pneumonia 30-day mortality and readmission measures by legitimate changes to diagnostic coding.
Crit Care Med 2015 May;43(5):989-95. doi: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000000862..
Keywords: Elderly, Hospital Readmissions, Medicare, Mortality, Pneumonia, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Ornstein SM, Nemeth LS, Nietert PJ
Learning from primary care meaningful use exemplars.
This report presents the results of a multimethod study combining an EHR-based clinical quality measurements (CQM) performance assessment, a provider survey, and focus groups among high CQM performers. It concluded that purposeful use of EHR functionality coupled with staff education in a milieu where Quality Improvement is valued and supported is associated with higher performance on CQM.
AHRQ-funded; HS022701; HS018984.
Citation: Ornstein SM, Nemeth LS, Nietert PJ .
Learning from primary care meaningful use exemplars.
J Am Board Fam Med 2015 May-Jun;28(3):360-70. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.03.140219..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care
Chung JW, Ju MH, Kinnier CV
Postoperative venous thromboembolism outcomes measure: analytic exploration of potential misclassification of hospital quality due to surveillance bias.
The authors discuss problems associated with AHRQ’s Patient Safety Indicator (PS112), Postoperative Venous Thromboembolism such as identifying truly poor-quality hospitals from those that only seem to be poor-quality because of hospital-to-hospital variations in imaging rates for venous thromboembolism (VTE). They call for the development of administrative codes that enable reliable identification and exclusion of sub-clinical VTE from the measure numerator.
AHRQ-funded; HS021857
Citation: Chung JW, Ju MH, Kinnier CV .
Postoperative venous thromboembolism outcomes measure: analytic exploration of potential misclassification of hospital quality due to surveillance bias.
Ann Surg. 2015 Mar;261(3):443-4. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000000850..
Keywords: Quality Indicators (QIs), Blood Clots, Quality of Care, Adverse Events
Sentell TL, Juarez DT, Ahn HJ
Disparities in diabetes-related preventable hospitalizations among working-age Native Hawaiians and Asians in Hawai'i.
Elderly (65+) Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Japanese men and Filipino women have a higher risk of diabetes-related potentially preventable hospitalizations than whites. The authors sought to determine if similar disparities are seen among the non-elderly (< 65). They found that preventable hospitalizations rates were significantly higher for Native Hawaiians males compared to whites, but significantly lower for Chinese men and women, Japanese men and women, and Filipino men and women. Rates for Native Hawaiian females did not differ significantly from Whites. Disparities in diabetes-related preventable hospitalizations were seen for working-age (18-64) Native Hawaiian men even when their higher population-level diabetes prevalence was considered.
AHRQ-funded; HS019990.
Citation: Sentell TL, Juarez DT, Ahn HJ .
Disparities in diabetes-related preventable hospitalizations among working-age Native Hawaiians and Asians in Hawai'i.
Hawaii J Med Public Health 2014 Dec;73(12 Suppl 3):8-13.
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Keywords: Diabetes, Disparities, Hospitalization, Quality Indicators (QIs), Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Bailey LC, Mistry KB, Tinoco A
AHRQ Author: Mistry KB
Addressing electronic clinical information in the construction of quality measures.
The authors draw on the experience of Centers of Excellence to review both structural and pragmatic considerations in e-measurement. They suggest that addressing these challenges will require investment by vendors, researchers, and clinicians alike in developing better pediatric content for standard terminologies and data models, encouraging wider adoption of technical standards that support reliable quality measurement, better harmonizing data collection with clinical work flow in EHRs, and better understanding the behavior and potential of e-measures.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Bailey LC, Mistry KB, Tinoco A .
Addressing electronic clinical information in the construction of quality measures.
Acad Pediatr 2014 Sep-Oct;14(5 Suppl):S82-9. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.06.006.
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Keywords: Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Lorch SA, Passarella M, Zeigler A
Challenges to measuring variation in readmission rates of neonatal intensive care patients.
The authors examined the viability of a hospital readmission quality metric for infants requiring neonatal intensive care. They found that the California cohort showed significant variation in hospital-level readmission rates, supporting the premise that readmission rates of prematurely born infants may reflect care quality. However, state data did not include term and early term infants requiring neonatal intensive care, and there were extensive missing data in the few states with sufficient information on managed care patients to calculate state-level measures. They concluded that constructing a valid readmission measure for NICU care across diverse states and regions requires improved data collection.
AHRQ-funded; HS018661; HS020508.
Citation: Lorch SA, Passarella M, Zeigler A .
Challenges to measuring variation in readmission rates of neonatal intensive care patients.
Acad Pediatr 2014 Sep-Oct;14(5 Suppl):S47-53. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.06.010.
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Keywords: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Newborns/Infants, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Hospital Readmissions
Nakamura MM, Toomey SL, Zaslavsky AM
Measuring pediatric hospital readmission rates to drive quality improvement.
The investigators sought to describe the importance of readmissions in children and the challenges of developing readmission quality measures. They found that the policy focus on readmissions has motivated widespread efforts by hospitals and outpatient providers to evaluate and reengineer care processes.
AHRQ-funded; HS020513; HS020508.
Citation: Nakamura MM, Toomey SL, Zaslavsky AM .
Measuring pediatric hospital readmission rates to drive quality improvement.
Acad Pediatr 2014 Sep-Oct;14(5 Suppl):S39-46. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.06.012.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Hospital Readmissions
Bevans KB, Moon J, Carle AC
Patient reported outcomes as indicators of pediatric health care quality.
The authors described and illustrated in case examples the functions, benefits, and challenges of patient-reported outcomes applications. They concluded that pediatric patient-reported outcomes are increasingly recognized as valuable indicators of health care quality in the clinical environment and as measures of organization- and provider-level performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS020408.
Citation: Bevans KB, Moon J, Carle AC .
Patient reported outcomes as indicators of pediatric health care quality.
Acad Pediatr 2014 Sep-Oct;14(5 Suppl):S90-6. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.06.002..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Quality of Care, Children/Adolescents, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Provider Performance
Gidengil C, Mangione-Smith R, Bailey LC
Using Medicaid and CHIP claims data to support pediatric quality measurement: lessons from 3 centers of excellence in measure development.
The investigators sought to explore the claims data-related issues relevant to quality measure development for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), illustrating the challenges encountered and solutions developed around 3 distinct performance measure topics: care coordination for children with complex needs, quality of care for high-prevalence conditions, and hospital readmissions. Their three Centers of Excellence in pediatric quality measurement used innovative methods to develop algorithms that use Medicaid claims data to identify children with complex needs; to overcome some shortcomings of existing data for measuring quality of care for common conditions such as otitis media; and to identify readmissions after hospitalizations for lower respiratory infections.
AHRQ-funded; HS020513; HS020506; HS020508.
Citation: Gidengil C, Mangione-Smith R, Bailey LC .
Using Medicaid and CHIP claims data to support pediatric quality measurement: lessons from 3 centers of excellence in measure development.
Acad Pediatr 2014 Sep-Oct;14(5 Suppl):S76-81. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.06.014.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality of Care
Sentell T, Chang A, Cheng Y
Maternal quality and safety outcomes for Asians and Pacific Islanders in Hawaii: an observational study from five years of statewide data.
The authors investigated maternal quality and safety outcomes across heterogeneous Asian and Pacific Islanders subgroups in the United States. They found significant variation for Asian and Pacific Islander subgroups across maternal quality and safety outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS019990; HS021903.
Citation: Sentell T, Chang A, Cheng Y .
Maternal quality and safety outcomes for Asians and Pacific Islanders in Hawaii: an observational study from five years of statewide data.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2014 Aug 30;14:298. doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-14-298.
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Keywords: Disparities, Labor and Delivery, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality Indicators (QIs), Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Brown SE, Ratcliffe SJ, Halpern SD
An empirical comparison of key statistical attributes among potential ICU quality indicators.
The researchers assessed the performance of candidate indicators of ICU quality based on face validity, relevance to patients, ability to be measured reliably, sufficient variability to identify poor performers, relative insensitivity to severity adjustment, and the ability to capture what providers do rather than patients' characteristics. They concluded that no indicator performed optimally across assessments and recommended that future research seek to define and operationalize quality in a way that is relevant to both patients and providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS018406.
Citation: Brown SE, Ratcliffe SJ, Halpern SD .
An empirical comparison of key statistical attributes among potential ICU quality indicators.
Crit Care Med 2014 Aug;42(8):1821-31. doi: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000000334.
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Keywords: Quality of Care, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs), Hospital Readmissions
Maggard-Gibbons M
The use of report cards and outcome measurements to improve the safety of surgical care: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
This review summarized the history of American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project and its components, and described the evidence that feeding outcomes back to providers, along with real-time comparisons with other hospital rates, leads to quality improvement, better patient outcomes, cost savings and overall improved patient safety.
AHRQ-funded; 2902007100621.
Citation: Maggard-Gibbons M .
The use of report cards and outcome measurements to improve the safety of surgical care: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
BMJ Qual Saf 2014 Jul;23(7):589-99. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2013-002223..
Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Surgery, Patient Safety, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider Performance
Shelton J, Kummerow K, Phillips S
Patient safety in the era of the 80-hour workweek.
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effect of duty-hour regulations (DHR) on patient safety. The researchers found no differences in the patient safety indicator (PSI) rates over time for hemorrhage or hematoma, physiologic or metabolic derangement, accidental puncture or laceration, or wound dehiscence. Teaching hospitals had higher rates than non-teaching hospitals both preintervention and postintervention for all the PSIs except wound dehiscence.
AHRQ-funded; HS013833.
Citation: Shelton J, Kummerow K, Phillips S .
Patient safety in the era of the 80-hour workweek.
J Surg Educ 2014 Jul-Aug;71(4):551-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2013.12.011.
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Keywords: Adverse Events, Education: Continuing Medical Education, Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs), Provider
Gibson G, Jurasic MM, Wehler CJ
Longitudinal outcomes of using a fluoride performance measure for adults at high risk of experiencing caries.
In this paper, the authors hypothesized that after the implementation of a performance measure regarding appropriate fluoride use, veterans at high risk of experiencing caries would require fewer new dental restorations than in the past. They found that, after use of the performance measure for four years, there were 8.6 percent fewer patients needing two or more restorations, a 10.8 percent decrease in the mean number of restorations, and a modest 3.4 percent fewer patients at high risk of experiencing caries who required new restorations after the initial 12-month period.
AHRQ-funded; HS019527.
Citation: Gibson G, Jurasic MM, Wehler CJ .
Longitudinal outcomes of using a fluoride performance measure for adults at high risk of experiencing caries.
J Am Dent Assoc 2014 May;145(5):443-51. doi: 10.14219/jada.2013.53.
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Keywords: Dental and Oral Health, Healthcare Delivery, Provider Performance, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Weissman JS, López L, Schneider EC
The association of hospital quality ratings with adverse events.
The researchers used a survey of 2,582 patients hospitalized at 16 acute care Massachusetts hospitals to understand how patient-reported quality is related to adverse events (AEs). Although patients with AEs rated hospital quality lower than others, patients with AEs who experienced ‘service recovery’ rated their quality of care at levels similar to those not experiencing AEs.
AHRQ-funded
Citation: Weissman JS, López L, Schneider EC .
The association of hospital quality ratings with adverse events.
Int J Qual Health Care. 2014 Apr;26(2):129-35. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzt092..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Patient Experience, Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Ottenbacher KJ, Karmarkar A, Graham JE
Thirty-day hospital readmission following discharge from postacute rehabilitation in fee-for-service Medicare patients.
This study sought to determine 30-day readmission rates and factors related to readmission for patients receiving postacute inpatient rehabilitation. It found that among postacute rehabilitation facilities providing services to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, 30-day readmission rates ranged from 5.8 percent to 18.8 percent for selected impairment groups.
AHRQ-funded; HS022134.
Citation: Ottenbacher KJ, Karmarkar A, Graham JE .
Thirty-day hospital readmission following discharge from postacute rehabilitation in fee-for-service Medicare patients.
JAMA 2014 Feb 12;311(6):604-14. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.8..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Medicare, Rehabilitation, Elderly, Quality Indicators (QIs)