National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Events (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) (1)
- Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) (1)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (6)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (1)
- Health Insurance (1)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Hospitalization (2)
- Hospital Readmissions (3)
- (-) Hospitals (17)
- Infectious Diseases (1)
- Injuries and Wounds (1)
- Medicare (2)
- Mortality (1)
- Newborns/Infants (1)
- Nursing Homes (1)
- Outcomes (2)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (6)
- Payment (3)
- Pregnancy (1)
- (-) Provider Performance (17)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (4)
- Quality Measures (6)
- Quality of Care (12)
- Rural Health (1)
- Sepsis (2)
- Surgery (2)
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (1)
- Women (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 17 of 17 Research Studies DisplayedCE Kranz, AM DeYoreo, M
AHRQ Author: O'Hanlon
Access, quality, and financial performance of rural hospitals following health system affiliation.
This study examined the effect of a rural hospital affiliating itself with a health system. The comparison study used data from 2008 to 2017. A propensity score-weighted set of twelve measures were used on structure, utilization, financial performance, and quality. The rural hospitals that affiliated themselves with a health system experienced a significant reduction in on-site diagnostic imaging technologies, the availability of obstetric and primary care services, and outpatient nonemergency visits as well as a significant increase in operating margins. While these affiliations may help to keep a rural hospital open, it may also reduce access to services in these rural areas.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: CE Kranz, AM DeYoreo, M .
Access, quality, and financial performance of rural hospitals following health system affiliation.
Health Aff 2019 Dec;38(12):2095-104. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00918..
Keywords: Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Rural Health
Barbash IJ, Kahn JM
Sepsis quality in safety-net hospitals: an analysis of Medicare's SEP-1 performance measure.
Researchers studied the relationship between hospital safety-net status and performance on Medicare's SEP-1 quality measure. Data from 2827 hospitals were analyzed. They found that existing sepsis policies may harm safety-net hospitals and widen health disparities. They suggest that strategies to promote collaboration among hospitals may be an avenue for sepsis performance improvement in these hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS025455.
Citation: Barbash IJ, Kahn JM .
Sepsis quality in safety-net hospitals: an analysis of Medicare's SEP-1 performance measure.
J Crit Care 2019 Dec;54:88-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2019.08.009.
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Keywords: Sepsis, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement
Sheetz KH, Dimick JB, Englesbe MJ
Hospital-acquired condition reduction program is not associated with additional patient safety improvement.
In 2013 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that it would begin levying penalties against hospitals with the highest rates of hospital-acquired conditions through the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program. This study evaluates whether the program has been successful in improving patient safety or not. The investigators concluded that the program did not improve patient safety in Michigan beyond existing trends.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053; HS026244.
Citation: Sheetz KH, Dimick JB, Englesbe MJ .
Hospital-acquired condition reduction program is not associated with additional patient safety improvement.
Health Aff 2019 Nov;38(11):1858-65. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05504..
Keywords: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Patient Safety, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Infectious Diseases, Payment
Hsu HE, Wang R, Jentzsch MS
The impact of measurement changes on evaluating hospital performance: the case of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Researchers observed that catheter-associated urinary tract infections in 592 hospitals immediately declined after federal value-based incentive program implementation, but found that this was fully attributable to a concurrent surveillance case definition revision. They found that post revision, more hospitals had favorable standardized infection ratios, likely leading to artificial inflation of their performance scores unrelated to changes in patient safety.
AHRQ-funded; HS000063; HS025008; HS018414.
Citation: Hsu HE, Wang R, Jentzsch MS .
The impact of measurement changes on evaluating hospital performance: the case of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2019 Nov;40(11):1269-71. doi: 10.1017/ice.2019.240..
Keywords: Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI), Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Patient Safety, Provider Performance, Quality Measures, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Kim KL, LI L, Kuang M
Changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
The objective of this study was to investigate the association between changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) penalty pressure. Results showed that HRRP did not prompt substantial changes in hospital referral patterns to SNFs, although readmissions for patients referred to SNFs differentially decreased more than for other patients, warranting investigation of other mechanisms underlying readmissions reduction.
AHRQ-funded; HS022882.
Citation: Kim KL, LI L, Kuang M .
Changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
Med Care 2019 Sep;57(9):695-701. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001169..
Keywords: Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Hospital Readmissions, Payment, Provider Performance
Barbash IJ, Davis B, Kahn JM
National performance on the Medicare SEP-1 sepsis quality measure.
Researchers characterized national performance on the sepsis measure known as SEP-1. They found that the majority of eligible hospitals reported SEP-1 data, and overall bundle compliance was highly variable. Further, SEP-1 performance was associated with structural hospital characteristics and performance on other measures of hospital quality, providing preliminary support for SEP-1 performance as a marker of timely hospital sepsis care.
AHRQ-funded; HS025455.
Citation: Barbash IJ, Davis B, Kahn JM .
National performance on the Medicare SEP-1 sepsis quality measure.
Crit Care Med 2019 Aug;47(8):1026-32. doi: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000003613..
Keywords: Sepsis, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Provider Performance
Sankaran R, Sukul D, Nuliyalu U
Changes in hospital safety following penalties in the US Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program: retrospective cohort study.
This study evaluated the association between hospital penalization in the US Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP) and changes in clinical outcomes. Out of the total of 724 hospitals were penalized in fiscal year 2015, 708 were included in the study. The majority of the penalized hospitals were large teaching institutions and have a greater share of low-income patients than non-penalized hospitals. After penalization, there was a non-significant change in hospital acquired conditions, 30-day readmission rates, and 30-day mortality. This might mean that disparities in care could be exacerbated.
AHRQ-funded; HS026244.
Citation: Sankaran R, Sukul D, Nuliyalu U .
Changes in hospital safety following penalties in the US Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program: retrospective cohort study.
BMJ 2019 Jul 3;366:l4109. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l4109..
Keywords: Health Insurance, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Medicare, Patient Safety, Provider Performance, Payment, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Sheetz KH, Ibrahim AM, Nathan H
Variation in surgical outcomes across networks of the highest-rated US hospitals.
This longitudinal analysis of 87 hospitals in 1 of 16 networks who were affiliated with the US News & World Report Honor Roll hospitals discusses variation in surgical outcomes compared with their network affiliates. Data was used from Medicare beneficiaries who underwent colectomy, coronary artery bypass graft, or hip replacement between 2005 and 2014. Thirty-day postoperative complications, mortality, failure to rescue and readmissions were compared. Outcomes were not consistently better at Honor Roll hospitals compared with their network affiliates. Honor Roll hospitals had lower failure to rescue rates but higher complication rates.
AHRQ-funded; HS023597.
Citation: Sheetz KH, Ibrahim AM, Nathan H .
Variation in surgical outcomes across networks of the highest-rated US hospitals.
JAMA Surg 2019 Jun;154(6):510-15. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0090..
Keywords: Surgery, Outcomes, Provider Performance, Hospitals, Quality of Care
Campbell KH, Illuzzi JL, Lee HC
Optimal maternal and neonatal outcomes and associated hospital characteristics.
The goal of this study was to examine hospital variation in both maternal and neonatal morbidities and to identify institutional characteristics associated with hospital performance in a combined measure of maternal and neonatal outcomes. The authors found that hospitals with low maternal morbidity rates may not have low neonatal morbidity rates and vice versa, highlighting the importance of assessing joint maternal-newborn outcomes in order to fully characterize a hospital's obstetrical performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS023801.
Citation: Campbell KH, Illuzzi JL, Lee HC .
Optimal maternal and neonatal outcomes and associated hospital characteristics.
Birth 2019 Jun;46(2):289-99. doi: 10.1111/birt.12400.
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Keywords: Hospitals, Newborns/Infants, Outcomes, Pregnancy, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Women
Cefalu MS, Elliott MN, Setodji CM
Hospital quality indicators are not unidimensional: a reanalysis of Lieberthal and Comer.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the dimensionality of hospital quality indicators treated as unidimensional in a prior publication. The investigators found that there were four underlying dimensions of hospital quality: patient experience, mortality, and two clinical process dimensions. They concluded that hospital quality should be measured using a variety of indicators reflecting different dimensions of quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS016978.
Citation: Cefalu MS, Elliott MN, Setodji CM .
Hospital quality indicators are not unidimensional: a reanalysis of Lieberthal and Comer.
Health Serv Res 2019 Apr;54(2):502-08. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13056..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Chukmaitov A, Harless DW, Bazzoli GJ
Preventable hospital admissions and 30-day all-cause readmissions: does hospital participation in accountable care organizations improve quality of care?
This study evaluates quality performance of hospitals participating in Medicare Shared Savings and Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs relative to nonparticipating hospitals. The authors studied preventable hospitalizations for conditions sensitive to high-quality ambulatory care and 30-day all-cause readmissions potentially influenced by hospital care. A decrease was found in preventable hospitalizations for COPD and asthma and for diabetes complications for ACO participating hospitals, but no significant differences for preventable chronic heart failure hospitalizations and 30-day readmissions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023332.
Citation: Chukmaitov A, Harless DW, Bazzoli GJ .
Preventable hospital admissions and 30-day all-cause readmissions: does hospital participation in accountable care organizations improve quality of care?
Am J Med Qual 2019 Jan/Feb;34(1):14-22. doi: 10.1177/1062860618778786..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Hospitalization
Masnick M, Morgan DJ, Sorkin JD
Can national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) data differentiate hospitals in the United States?
This study was designed to determine whether patients using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website can use nationally reported healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data to differentiate hospitals. The authors concluded that HAI data generally are reported by enough hospitals to meet minimal criteria for useful comparisons in many geographic locations, though this varies by type of HAI.
AHRQ-funded; HS018111.
Citation: Masnick M, Morgan DJ, Sorkin JD .
Can national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) data differentiate hospitals in the United States?
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017 Oct;38(10):1167-71. doi: 10.1017/ice.2017.179..
Keywords: Quality of Care, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Provider Performance, Quality Measures
Smith SN, Reichert HA, Ameling JM
Dissecting Leapfrog: how well do Leapfrog safe practices scores correlate with Hospital Compare ratings and penalties, and how much do they matter?
Voluntary Leapfrog Safe Practices Score (SPS) measures were among the first public reports of hospital performance. Recently, Medicare's Hospital Compare website has reported compulsory measures. Leapfrog's Hospital Safety Score (HSS) grades incorporate SPS and Medicare measures. The researchers evaluated associations between Leapfrog SPS and Medicare measures. They found that voluntary Leapfrog SPS measures skew toward positive self-report and bear little association with compulsory Medicare outcomes and penalties.
AHRQ-funded; HS019767; HS024385; HS018334.
Citation: Smith SN, Reichert HA, Ameling JM .
Dissecting Leapfrog: how well do Leapfrog safe practices scores correlate with Hospital Compare ratings and penalties, and how much do they matter?
Med Care 2017 Jun;55(6):606-14. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000716.
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Keywords: Patient Safety, Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI), Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Hospitals, Provider Performance
DeLancey JO, Softcheck J, Chung JW
Associations between hospital characteristics, measure reporting, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings.
This study evaluated associations between hospital characteristics, number and types of measures reported, and the star ratings. Of 3,591 hospitals receiving a star rating,4 or 5 stars were awarded to 15.8 percent of major teaching hospitals, 18.8 percent of other teaching hospitals, 30.2 percent of community hospitals, 33.3 percent of critical access hospitals, and 87.3 percent of specialty hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS021857.
Citation: DeLancey JO, Softcheck J, Chung JW .
Associations between hospital characteristics, measure reporting, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings.
JAMA 2017 May 16;317(19):2015-17. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.3148.
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Keywords: Hospitals, Quality of Care, Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Patient Safety
Davis JD, Olsen MA, Bommarito K
All-payer analysis of heart failure hospitalization 30-day readmission: comorbidities matter.
In this study, the researchers investigated readmission characteristics and the magnitude of 30-day hospital readmissions after hospital discharge for heart failure using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases (SID). They found in this large all-payer cohort, ∼70% of 30-day readmissions were for non-heart failure causes, and the median time to readmission was 12 days.
AHRQ-funded; HS019455.
Citation: Davis JD, Olsen MA, Bommarito K .
All-payer analysis of heart failure hospitalization 30-day readmission: comorbidities matter.
Am J Med 2017 Jan;130(1):93.e9-93.e28. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.07.030..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Heart Disease and Health, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospital Readmissions, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Provider Performance
George EI, Ročková V, Rosenbaum PR
Mortality rate estimation and standardization for public reporting: Medicare’s Hospital Compare.
The authors calibrated Bayesian recommendation systems by checking, out of sample, whether predictions aggregate to give correct general advice derived from another sample. Their process leads to substantial revisions in the Hospital Compare model for acute myocardial infarction mortality. They found that indirect standardization, as currently used by Hospital Compare, fails to adequately control for differences in patient risk factors and systematically underestimates mortality rates at the low volume hospitals. They proposed direct standardization instead.
AHRQ-funded; HS021854.
Citation: George EI, Ročková V, Rosenbaum PR .
Mortality rate estimation and standardization for public reporting: Medicare’s Hospital Compare.
Journal of the American Statistical Association 2017;112(519):933-47. doi: 10.1080/01621459.2016.1276021.
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Keywords: Hospitals, Medicare, Mortality, Provider Performance
Calderwood MS, Kleinman K, Huang SS
Surgical site infections: volume-outcome relationship and year-to-year stability of performance rankings.
The researchers evaluated the volume-outcome relationship as well as the year-to-year stability of performance rankings following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and hip arthroplasty. They concluded that aggregate surgical site infection risk is highest in hospitals with low annual procedure volumes. Even for higher volume hospitals, year-to-year random variation makes past experience an unreliable estimator of current performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS021424.
Citation: Calderwood MS, Kleinman K, Huang SS .
Surgical site infections: volume-outcome relationship and year-to-year stability of performance rankings.
Med Care 2017 Jan;55(1):79-85. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000620.
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Keywords: Surgery, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Adverse Events, Injuries and Wounds, Hospitals, Provider Performance, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Elderly