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
1 to 25 of 105 Research Studies DisplayedElliott MN, Cohea CW, Lehrman WG
Accelerating improvement and narrowing gaps: trends in patients' experiences with hospital care reflected in HCAHPS public reporting.
The researchers describe the experiences of over 4 million patients discharged from hospitals that participated in the second and fifth years of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) public reporting and assess the changes in HCAHPS scores across different types of hospital and patient groups. They found that HCAHPS scores increased by 2.8 percentage points from 2008 to 2011 in the most positive response category.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Elliott MN, Cohea CW, Lehrman WG .
Accelerating improvement and narrowing gaps: trends in patients' experiences with hospital care reflected in HCAHPS public reporting.
Health Serv Res 2015 Dec;50(6):1850-67. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12305..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Quality of Care, Public Reporting
Kronick R, Casalino LP, Bindman AB
AHRQ Author: Kronick R
Apple pickers or federal judges: strong versus weak incentives in physician payment.
The authors provide an introduction for five papers commissioned by AHRQ focusing on incentives for physicians that are featured in this special issue of Health Services Research. These papers concentrate on suggesting a conceptual framework for the use of financial incentives in health care, key implications of the evidence to date on pay for performance and public reporting in health care and several related topics.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Kronick R, Casalino LP, Bindman AB .
Apple pickers or federal judges: strong versus weak incentives in physician payment.
Health Serv Res 2015 Dec;50 Suppl 2:2049-56. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12424.
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Keywords: Payment, Provider Performance, Policy, Health Services Research (HSR), Quality of Care, Healthcare Costs, Quality Improvement
Berenson RA, Rice T
Beyond measurement and reward: methods of motivating quality improvement and accountability.
The article examines public policies designed to improve quality and accountability that do not rely on financial incentives and public reporting of provider performance. It concludes that public policies related to quality improvement should focus more on methods of enhancing professional intrinsic motivation, while recognizing the potential role of organizations to actively promote and facilitate that motivation.
AHRQ-funded
Citation: Berenson RA, Rice T .
Beyond measurement and reward: methods of motivating quality improvement and accountability.
Health Serv Res 2015 Dec;50 Suppl 2:2155-86. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12413.
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Keywords: Quality Improvement, Policy, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Payment
Ray KN, Chari AV, Engberg J
Disparities in time spent seeking medical care in the United States.
The researchers assessed how time associated with medical visits varied across socioeconomic variables and visit characteristics. They determined that patients spent on average 123 minutes obtaining medical care, including 86 minutes of clinic time and 38 minutes travel time. Clinic time was significantly longer for racial/ethnic minorities, individuals with less education, and unemployed individuals.
AHRQ-funded; HS022989.
Citation: Ray KN, Chari AV, Engberg J .
Disparities in time spent seeking medical care in the United States.
JAMA Intern Med 2015 Dec;175(12):1983-6. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.4468..
Keywords: Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Social Determinants of Health, Access to Care, Quality of Care
Kanzaria 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
Etchegaray JM, Thomas EJ
Engaging employees: the importance of high-performance work systems for patient safety.
The researchers developed and tested survey items that measure high-performance work systems (HPWSs), reported psychometric characteristics of the survey, and examined associations between HPWSs and teamwork culture, safety culture, and overall patient safety grade. They concluded that the HPWSs survey was reliable, distinct from safety culture and teamwork culture based on a confirmatory factor analysis.
AHRQ-funded; HS017145.
Citation: Etchegaray JM, Thomas EJ .
Engaging employees: the importance of high-performance work systems for patient safety.
J Patient Saf 2015 Dec;11(4):221-7. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000076.
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Keywords: Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Teams
Layton TJ, Ryan AM
Higher incentive payments in Medicare Advantage's pay-for-performance program did not improve quality but did increase plan offerings.
The researchers evaluated the effects of the size of financial bonuses on quality of care and the number of plan offerings in the Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration. They concluded that at great expense to Medicare, double bonuses in the Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration were not associated with improved quality but were associated with more plan offerings.
AHRQ-funded; HS018546.
Citation: Layton TJ, Ryan AM .
Higher incentive payments in Medicare Advantage's pay-for-performance program did not improve quality but did increase plan offerings.
Health Serv Res 2015 Dec;50(6):1810-28. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12409..
Keywords: Medicare, Payment, Provider Performance, Health Services Research (HSR), Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Parker SH
Human factors science: Brief history and applications to healthcare.
This section will define the science of human factors, its origins, its impact on safety in other domains, and its impact and potential for impact on patient safety.
Patient Safety, Medical Errors, Health Care Quality
Citation: Parker SH .
Human factors science: Brief history and applications to healthcare.
Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care 2015 Dec;45(12):390-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2015.10.002.
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Keywords: Patient Safety, Medical Errors, Quality of Care
Nembhard IM, Morrow CT, Bradley EH
Implementing role-changing versus time-changing innovations in health care: differences in helpfulness of staff improvement teams, management, and network for learning.
This paper examined the hypothesis that the degree to which access to groups that can alter organizational learning depends on innovation type. Team representativeness and network membership were positively associated with implementing role-changing practices; while senior management engagement was positively associated with implementing time-changing practices. The authors concluded that these findings advance implementation science by explaining mixed results across past studies, that the nature of change for workers alters potential facilitators' effects on implementation.
AHRQ-funded; HS018987.
Citation: Nembhard IM, Morrow CT, Bradley EH .
Implementing role-changing versus time-changing innovations in health care: differences in helpfulness of staff improvement teams, management, and network for learning.
Med Care Res Rev 2015 Dec;72(6):707-35. doi: 10.1177/1077558715592315.
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Keywords: Healthcare Delivery, Quality Improvement, Organizational Change, Teams, Quality of Care, Learning Health Systems, Implementation
Fernandez R, Grand JA
Leveraging social science-healthcare collaborations to improve teamwork and patient safety.
This article highlights guiding team science principles from the organizational psychology literature that can be applied to the study of teams in healthcare. The authors' goal is to provide some common language and understanding around teams and teamwork. Additionally, they hope to impart an appreciation for the potential synergy present within clinician-social scientist collaborations.
AHRQ-funded; HS020295; HS022458.
Citation: Fernandez R, Grand JA .
Leveraging social science-healthcare collaborations to improve teamwork and patient safety.
Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care 2015 Dec;45(12):370-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2015.10.005.
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Keywords: Patient Safety, Teams, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Medical Errors, Adverse Events
Hersh WR, Totten AM, Eden KB
Outcomes from health information exchange: systematic review and future research needs.
The authors systematically reviewed the available research on health information exchange (HIE) outcomes and analyzed future research needs. After analyzing 34 studies on outcomes of HIE, they found that although the evidence supports benefits of HIE in reducing the use of specific resources and improving the quality of care, the full impact of HIE on clinical outcomes and potential harms are inadequately studied.
AHRQ-funded; 290201200014I.
Citation: Hersh WR, Totten AM, Eden KB .
Outcomes from health information exchange: systematic review and future research needs.
JMIR Med Inform 2015 Dec 15;3(4):e39. doi: 10.2196/medinform.5215.
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Keywords: Quality of Care, Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information Technology (HIT), Outcomes
Graetz I, Huang J, Brand R
The impact of electronic health records and teamwork on diabetes care quality.
The researchers examined whether team cohesion among primary care team members changed the association between EHR use and changes in clinical outcomes for patients with diabetes. They found that patients cared for by higher cohesion primary care teams experienced modest but statistically significantly greater EHR-related health outcome improvements, compared with patients cared for by providers practicing in lower cohesion teams.
AHRQ-funded; HS015280; HS021082.
Citation: Graetz I, Huang J, Brand R .
The impact of electronic health records and teamwork on diabetes care quality.
Am J Manag Care 2015 Dec;21(12):878-84.
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Keywords: Diabetes, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality of Care, Primary Care, Teams
Schlesinger M, Grob R, Shaller D
Using patient-reported information to improve clinical practice.
The purposes of this study were to assess what is known about the relationship between patient experience measures and incentives designed to improve care, and to identify how public policy and medical practices can promote patient-valued outcomes in health systems with strong financial incentives. It concluded that unless public policies are attentive to patients' perspectives, stronger financial incentives for clinicians can threaten aspects of care that patients most value.
AHRQ-funded.
Citation: Schlesinger M, Grob R, Shaller D .
Using patient-reported information to improve clinical practice.
Health Serv Res 2015 Dec;50 Suppl 2:2116-54. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12420.
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Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Policy, Payment, Public Reporting
Okafor NG, Doshi PB, Miller SK
Voluntary medical incident reporting tool to improve physician reporting of medical errors in an emergency department.
A web-based, password-protected tool was developed by members of a quality assurance committee for ED providers to report incidents that they believe could impact patient safety. The researchers found that the utilization of this system in one residency program with two academic sites resulted in an increase from 81 reported incidents in 2009, the first year of use, to 561 reported incidents in 2012.
AHRQ-funded; HS017586.
Citation: Okafor NG, Doshi PB, Miller SK .
Voluntary medical incident reporting tool to improve physician reporting of medical errors in an emergency department.
West J Emerg Med 2015 Dec;16(7):1073-8. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2015.8.27390.
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Keywords: Emergency Department, Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Public Reporting, Quality of Care
Cutting EM, Overby CL, Banchero M
Using workflow modeling to identify areas to improve genetic test processes in the University of Maryland Translational Pharmacogenomics Project.
The researchers used information gained from focus groups in order to illustrate the current process of delivering genetic test results to clinicians. They proposed a business process model and notation (BPMN) representation of this process for a Translational Pharmacogenomics Project being implemented at the University of Maryland Medical Center. They found that the current process could be improved to reduce input errors, better inform and notify clinicians about the implications of certain genetic tests, and make results more easily understood. They demonstrated theiruse of BPMN to improve this important clinical process for CYP2C19 genetic testing.
AHRQ-funded; HS023390.
Citation: Cutting EM, Overby CL, Banchero M .
Using workflow modeling to identify areas to improve genetic test processes in the University of Maryland Translational Pharmacogenomics Project.
AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2015 Nov 5;2015:466-74.
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Keywords: Genetics, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medication, Workflow, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Organizational Change
Berkman ND, Lohr KN, Ansari MT
Grading the strength of a body of evidence when assessing health care interventions: an EPC update.
The authors discussed the state of revision of 2010 guidance on grading the strength of evidence (SOE) of the effectiveness of drugs, devices, and other preventive and therapeutic interventions in systematic reviews produced by AHRQ's Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) program. They concluded that EPC working groups will consider ongoing challenges and modify guidance as needed, on issues such as combining trials and observational studies in bodies of evidence, weighting domains, and combining qualitative and quantitative syntheses.
AHRQ-funded; 290200710056I.
Citation: Berkman ND, Lohr KN, Ansari MT .
Grading the strength of a body of evidence when assessing health care interventions: an EPC update.
J Clin Epidemiol 2015 Nov;68(11):1312-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.11.023.
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Keywords: Comparative Effectiveness, Evidence-Based Practice, Quality of Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
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
Blecker S, Goldfeld K, Park H
Impact of an intervention to improve weekend hospital care at an academic medical center: an observational study.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a weekend hospital intervention on processes of care and clinical outcomes. The multifaceted intervention included expanded weekend diagnostic services, improved weekend discharge processes, and increased physician and care management services on weekends. The intervention was associated with a reduction in length of stay and an increase in weekend discharges.
AHRQ-funded; HS023683.
Citation: Blecker S, Goldfeld K, Park H .
Impact of an intervention to improve weekend hospital care at an academic medical center: an observational study.
J Gen Intern Med 2015 Nov;30(11):1657-64. doi: 10.1007/s11606-015-3330-6.
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Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Hospital Discharge, Hospital Readmissions, Healthcare Delivery, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
McConnochie KM
Pursuit of value in connected healthcare.
The authors highlighted differences in care models to mitigate controversy and to distinguish capacities of these different models. They concluded that the pursuit of value in connected care is fundamentally the same as with in-person care.
AHRQ-funded; HS016871; HS015165; HS018912.
Citation: McConnochie KM .
Pursuit of value in connected healthcare.
Telemed J E Health 2015 Nov;21(11):863-9. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2015.0111.
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Keywords: Healthcare Delivery, Quality of Care, Health Services Research (HSR), Telehealth
Kamal AH, Kavalieratos D, Bull J
Usability and acceptability of the QDACT-PC, an electronic point-of-care system for standardized quality monitoring in palliative care.
The researchers performed usability testing of the Quality Data Collection Tool for Palliative Care (QDACT-PC), a novel, point-of-care quality monitoring tool for palliative care. They found that testing the QDACT-PC reveals equivalence with paper for data collection time, but with less burden overall for electronic methods across other domains of usability.
AHRQ-funded; HS022989.
Citation: Kamal AH, Kavalieratos D, Bull J .
Usability and acceptability of the QDACT-PC, an electronic point-of-care system for standardized quality monitoring in palliative care.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2015 Nov;50(5):615-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.05.013.
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Keywords: Healthcare Delivery, Quality of Care, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Quality Measures
Shaw JJ, Santry HP
Who gets early tracheostomy? Evidence of unequal treatment at 185 academic medical centers.
The researchers identified clinical and demographic disparities the reasons for variation in time from intubation to tracheostomy. They found that although early tracheostomy was associated with increased survival, there were still significant disparities in time to tracheostomy according to sex, race, and type of insurance.
AHRQ-funded; HS022694.
Citation: Shaw JJ, Santry HP .
Who gets early tracheostomy? Evidence of unequal treatment at 185 academic medical centers.
Chest 2015 Nov;148(5):1242-50. doi: 10.1378/chest.15-0576..
Keywords: Disparities, Quality of Care, Critical Care
Ahmed S, Siegel CA, Melmed GY
Implementing quality measures for inflammatory bowel disease.
The author argues that implementation of quality measures may depend on the care setting and whether quality measurement and improvement can be incorporated into workflows and electronic medical records. He also asserts that collaborative networks, utilization of care pathways, and standardized treatment algorithms may represent avenues for wide-scale implementation of quality improvement.
AHRQ-funded; HS021747.
Citation: Ahmed S, Siegel CA, Melmed GY .
Implementing quality measures for inflammatory bowel disease.
Curr Gastroenterol Rep 2015 Apr;17(4):14. doi: 10.1007/s11894-015-0437-1..
Keywords: Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
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
Shortell SM, Sehgal NJ, Bibi S
An early assessment of accountable care organizations' efforts to engage patients and their families.
The authors sought to examine the extent to which ACOs actively engage patients and their families, explore challenges involved, and consider approaches for dealing with those challenges. They identified important practices associated with greater patient activation and engagement, including high-level leadership commitment, goal-setting supported by adequate resources, extensive provider training, use of interdisciplinary care teams, and frequent monitoring and reporting on progress.
AHRQ-funded; HS022241.
Citation: Shortell SM, Sehgal NJ, Bibi S .
An early assessment of accountable care organizations' efforts to engage patients and their families.
Med Care Res Rev 2015 Oct;72(5):580-604. doi: 10.1177/1077558715588874.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Quality of Care, Patient and Family Engagement, Clinician-Patient Communication
Aysola J, Werner RM, Keddem S
Asking the patient about patient-centered medical homes: a qualitative analysis.
The researchers characterized patients' experiences with care after PCMH adoption and their understanding and perceptions of the PCMH model and its key components, and to compare responses by degree of practice-level PCMH adoption and patient race/ethnicity. They found that patients uniformly lacked awareness of the PCMH concept, and the vast majority perceived no PCMH-related structural changes, regardless of the degree of practice-reported PCMH adoption or the patient's race/ethnicity.
AHRQ-funded; HS021706.
Citation: Aysola J, Werner RM, Keddem S .
Asking the patient about patient-centered medical homes: a qualitative analysis.
J Gen Intern Med 2015 Oct;30(10):1461-7. doi: 10.1007/s11606-015-3312-8.
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Keywords: Healthcare Delivery, Quality of Care, Patient Experience, Patient Experience, Patient-Centered Healthcare