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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 15 of 15 Research Studies DisplayedChhabra KR, Nuliyalu U, Dimick JB
Who will be the costliest patients? Using recent claims to predict expensive surgical episodes.
Researchers studied the effects of surgeon and hospital characteristics on surgical expenditures using Medicare claims data. They found that a significant proportion of surgical spending can be predicted using patient factors on the basis of readily available claims data and recommended adjusting for patient factors to facilitate future research on unwarranted variation in episode payments driven by surgeons, hospitals, or other market forces.
AHRQ-funded; HS024763; HS000053.
Citation: Chhabra KR, Nuliyalu U, Dimick JB .
Who will be the costliest patients? Using recent claims to predict expensive surgical episodes.
Med Care 2019 Nov;57(11):869-74. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001204..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Surgery, Medicare
Schwarzkopf R, Behery OA, Yu H
Patterns and costs of 90-day readmission for surgical and medical complications following total hip and knee arthroplasty.
Unplanned readmissions following elective total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty as a result of surgical complications likely have different quality improvement targets and cost implications than those for nonsurgical readmissions. In this study, the investigators compared payments, timing, and location of unplanned readmissions with Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-defined surgical complications to readmissions without such complications.
AHRQ-funded; HS022882.
Citation: Schwarzkopf R, Behery OA, Yu H .
Patterns and costs of 90-day readmission for surgical and medical complications following total hip and knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty 2019 Oct;34(10):2304-07. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2019.05.046..
Keywords: Orthopedics, Surgery, Hospital Readmissions, Adverse Events, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Medicare, Hospitals
Kundi H, Popma JJ, Valsdottir LR
The value of claims-based nontraditional risk factors in predicting long-term mortality after MitraClip procedure.
The goals of this study were to identify nontraditional risk factors coded in administrative claims data and to evaluate their ability to improve prediction of long-term mortality in patients undergoing percutaneous mitral valve repair. Patients undergoing transcatheter mitral valve repair using MitraClip implantation were identified among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries; researchers used nested Cox regression models to identify claims codes predictive of long-term mortality. Four groups of variables were introduced: cardiac, noncardiac, and nontraditional risk factors, and presentation characteristics. The authors conclude that risk-prediction models, which include nontraditional risk factors as identified in claims data, can be used to predict long-term mortality risk more accurately in patients who have undergone MitraClip procedures.
AHRQ-funded; HS024520.
Citation: Kundi H, Popma JJ, Valsdottir LR .
The value of claims-based nontraditional risk factors in predicting long-term mortality after MitraClip procedure.
Can J Cardiol 2018 Dec;34(12):1648-54. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2018.10.002..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Elderly, Mortality, Heart Disease and Health, Medicare, Risk, Surgery
Ganguli I, Lupo C, Mainor AJ
Prevalence and cost of care cascades after low-value preoperative electrocardiogram for cataract surgery in fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries.
This study examined the use and outcomes of preoperative electrocardiogram (EKG) for cataract surgery recipients on Medicare. The outcomes measured were cascade events if the EKG results were problematic. The study compared 110,183 cataract surgery recipients with 97,775 non-surgery participants (63.1% female). For the recipient group, 12,408 (11.3%) received a preoperative EKG (65.6% of them were female). Of those, 1978 (15.9%) had at least 1 potential cascade event. Additional tests, treatments, and cardiology visits added an additional estimated $35 million in addition to the $3.2 million spent on preoperative EKGs. Preoperative EKG recipients who were older, had more chronic conditions, lived in more cardiologist-dense areas, or had their EKG performed by a cardiac specialist rather than a primary care physician were more likely to experience a cascade event.
AHRQ-funded; HS023812.
Citation: Ganguli I, Lupo C, Mainor AJ .
Prevalence and cost of care cascades after low-value preoperative electrocardiogram for cataract surgery in fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries.
JAMA Intern Med 2019 Sep;179(9):1157-308. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.1739..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Healthcare Utilization, Surgery, Elderly
Sheetz KH, Dimick JB, Regenbogen SE
How patient complexity and surgical approach influence episode-based payment models for colectomy.
This study looked into how the use of bundled payment programs would affect hospital reimbursements for colectomies. National data from the 100% Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files for the years 2010 to 2014 was used. Patients undergoing colectomies were identified using diagnosis-related group codes and ICD-9, Clinical Modification codes. Reconciliation payments were simulated as the difference between actual price-standardized 90-day episode payments and estimated regional spending benchmarks. The simulated bundled payment conditions showed 51.8% of hospitals would achieve shared savings, but the average case would incur reconciliation penalties. Laparoscopies would achieve the highest savings.
AHRQ-funded; HS023597.
Citation: Sheetz KH, Dimick JB, Regenbogen SE .
How patient complexity and surgical approach influence episode-based payment models for colectomy.
Dis Colon Rectum 2019 Jun;62(6):739-46. doi: 10.1097/dcr.0000000000001372..
Keywords: Surgery, Payment, Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Hospitals
Borza T, Oerline MK, Skolarus TA
Association between hospital participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations and readmission following major surgery.
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and readmission rates following major surgery. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using a 20% national Medicare sample to identify beneficiaries undergoing 1 of 7 common surgical procedures: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, colectomy, cystectomy, prostatectomy, lung resection, total knee arthroplasty, and total hip arthroplasty between 2010 and 2014. Thirty-day risk-adjusted readmission rates was the primary outcome studied. Out of 2974 hospitals in the study, 389 were ACO affiliated. While rates fell for both cohorts, ACO hospitals had a higher decrease in hospitalizations over the same time period.
AHRQ-funded; HS024728; HS024525.
Citation: Borza T, Oerline MK, Skolarus TA .
Association between hospital participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations and readmission following major surgery.
Ann Surg 2019 May;269(5):873-78. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000002737..
Keywords: Hospitals, Surgery, Hospital Readmissions, Medicare, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Delivery
Shubeck SP, Thumma JR, Dimick JB
Hot spotting as a strategy to identify high-cost surgical populations.
Prospective identification of high-cost patients, known as "hot spotting," is well developed in medical populations, but has not been performed in surgical populations. Population-based management of surgical expenditures requires identification of high-cost surgical patients to allow for effective implementation of cost-saving strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of "hot spotting" in elective surgical populations. The investigators found that a subset of multimorbid patients was responsible for a disproportionate share of total Medicare spending, but the individual components of spending vary by procedure.
AHRQ-funded; HS024763.
Citation: Shubeck SP, Thumma JR, Dimick JB .
Hot spotting as a strategy to identify high-cost surgical populations.
Ann Surg 2019 Mar;269(3):453-58. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000002663..
Keywords: Surgery, Healthcare Costs, Medicare
Kim D, Funk RJ, Yan P
Informal clinical integration in Medicare accountable care organizations and mortality following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Researchers looked at national Medicare data from 2008-2014 to determine if informal clinical integration in accountable care organizations (ACOs) made a difference in mortality rates in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The cohort used were Medicare beneficiaries age 66 and older undergoing CABG. Results from ACO-participating health systems were compared with nonparticipating systems. Informal clinical integration made a difference in mortality, however there was no difference based on ACO participation for health systems on the low to moderate range.
AHRQ-funded; HS024525; HS024728.
Citation: Kim D, Funk RJ, Yan P .
Informal clinical integration in Medicare accountable care organizations and mortality following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Med Care 2019 Mar;57(3):194-201. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001052..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Medicare, Mortality, Outcomes, Surgery
Lin SC, Regenbogen SE, Hollingsworth JM
Coordination of care around surgery for colon cancer: insights from national patterns of physician encounters with Medicare beneficiaries.
This study researched the coordination of care before and after surgery for colon cancer patients using data from Medicare A and B records. There were quite a number of different combinations of care providers both preoperative and postoperative. Larger urban teaching hospitals had the most combinations in all phases.
AHRQ-funded; HS024525; HS024728.
Citation: Lin SC, Regenbogen SE, Hollingsworth JM .
Coordination of care around surgery for colon cancer: insights from national patterns of physician encounters with Medicare beneficiaries.
J Oncol Pract 2019 Feb;15(2):e110-e21. doi: 10.1200/jop.18.00228..
Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Colorectal Cancer, Care Coordination, Medicare, Surgery
Nathan H, Thumma JR, Ryan AM
Early impact of Medicare accountable care organizations on inpatient surgical spending.
This study evaluated whether hospital participation in accountable care organizations (ACOs) is associated with reduced Medicare spending for inpatient surgery. Medicare Shared Savings Programs (MSSP) have shown some modest success in reducing overall medical spending, but has not been studied on its impact in reducing surgical spending. Medicare claims from 2010 to 2014 were evaluated for patients aged 65 to 99 years undergoing 6 common elective surgical procedures: abdominal aortic aneurysm, colectomy, coronary artery bypass grafting, hip or knee replacement, or lung resection. A total of 341,675 patients at 427 ACO hospitals and over 1 million matched controls at non-ACO hospitals were used to compare surgical costs. There was not an overall reducing in total Medicare patients between the two hospital types.
AHRQ-funded; HS024763.
Citation: Nathan H, Thumma JR, Ryan AM .
Early impact of Medicare accountable care organizations on inpatient surgical spending.
Ann Surg 2019 Feb;269(2):191-96. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000002819..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Medicare, Surgery, Quality of Care
Hollingsworth JM, Funk RJ, Garrison SA
Association between physician teamwork and health system outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting.
The researchers tested whether teamwork (assessed with the bipartite clustering coefficient) among multiple providers dispersed across many care locations is a determinant of surgical outcomes by examining national Medicare data from patients undergoing CABG. They found that health systems with higher teamwork levels had significantly lower 60-day rates of emergency department visit, readmission, and mortality.
AHRQ-funded; HS020927.
Citation: Hollingsworth JM, Funk RJ, Garrison SA .
Association between physician teamwork and health system outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting.
Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2016 Nov;9(6):641-48. doi: 10.1161/circoutcomes.116.002714.
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Keywords: Teams, Outcomes, Medicare, Surgery, Hospital Readmissions, Cardiovascular Conditions
Pradarelli JC, Healy MA, Osborne NH
Variation in Medicare expenditures for treating perioperative complications: the cost of rescue.
The researchers evaluated differences across hospitals in the costs of care for patients surviving perioperative complications after major inpatient surgery. After 4 selected inpatient operations, substantial variation was observed across hospitals regarding Medicare episode payments for patients rescued from perioperative complications. Notably, higher Medicare payments were not associated with improved clinical performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS017765.
Citation: Pradarelli JC, Healy MA, Osborne NH .
Variation in Medicare expenditures for treating perioperative complications: the cost of rescue.
JAMA Surg 2016 Oct 5:e163340. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2016.3340.
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Keywords: Medicare, Adverse Events, Surgery, Healthcare Costs, Patient Safety
Chen LM, Norton EC, Birkmeyer JD
Comparing approaches to controlling Medicare spending.
For 3 common surgical procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), prostatectomy, and hip replacement), the researchers compared the relative influence of procedure rates versus episode payments (among those with procedures) on total Medicare expenditures. Using complete Part A and B Medicare claims data, they found that reducing procedure rates lowers total Medicare spending substantially more than reducing episode payments.
AHRQ-funded; HS020671.
Citation: Chen LM, Norton EC, Birkmeyer JD .
Comparing approaches to controlling Medicare spending.
J Hosp Med 2016 Mar;11(3):215-6. doi: 10.1002/jhm.2527.
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Keywords: Medicare, Healthcare Costs, Surgery
Grenda TR, Krell RW, Dimick JB
Reliability of hospital cost profiles in inpatient surgery.
This study sought to discover whether Medicare payments for surgery can reliably compare hospital costs. It found that episode payments for inpatient surgery are a reliable measure of hospital costs for commonly performed procedures, but are less reliable for lower volume operations. These findings suggest that hospital cost profiles based on Medicare claims data may be used to benchmark efficiency, especially for more common procedures.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053.
Citation: Grenda TR, Krell RW, Dimick JB .
Reliability of hospital cost profiles in inpatient surgery.
Surgery 2016 Feb;159(2):375-80. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2015.06.043..
Keywords: Inpatient Care, Surgery, Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Data
Hawken SR, Ryan AM, Miller DC
Surgery and Medicare shared savings program accountable care organizations.
The researchers investigated the degree to which surgeons and other specialists are participating in Medicare Shared Savings Programs, and whether such specialist integration influences accountable care organization (ACO) performance. They found that participation by surgeons and other specialists in Medicare ACO programs is highly variable. Some ACOs include many specialists who are tightly integrated with primary care physicians, while others consist solely of primary care physicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS018546.
Citation: Hawken SR, Ryan AM, Miller DC .
Surgery and Medicare shared savings program accountable care organizations.
JAMA Surg 2016 Jan;151(1):5-6. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2015.2772.
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Keywords: Surgery, Medicare, Payment, Healthcare Costs