National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Emergency Department (2)
- Evidence-Based Practice (3)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Health Systems (1)
- Hospitals (3)
- Implementation (1)
- Infectious Diseases (1)
- Learning Health Systems (1)
- Long-Term Care (2)
- Medicare (1)
- Nursing Homes (2)
- Organizational Change (1)
- Outcomes (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (2)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (4)
- Payment (2)
- Primary Care (2)
- (-) Provider Performance (13)
- (-) Quality Improvement (13)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (1)
- Quality Measures (4)
- Quality of Care (13)
- Risk (1)
- Sepsis (1)
- Stroke (1)
- Teams (1)
- Training (1)
- Workflow (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 13 of 13 Research Studies DisplayedGriffey RT, Schneider RM, Sharp BR
Description and yield of current quality and safety review in selected US academic emergency departments.
This study examined the impact of current quality and safety reviews used in US academic emergency departments (EDs). The authors hypothesized that current protocols are decades old and inefficient with low yield for identifying patient harm. They conducted a prospective observational study at five academic EDs for a 12-month procedure. Sites used the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s definition in defining an adverse event and a modified National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (MERP) Index for severity grading of events. They reviewed a total of 4735 cases and identified 381 events, of which 287 were near-misses, and 94 had adverse events (AEs). The overall AE rate was 1.99% (1.24-3.47%) across all sites. Quality concern rate (events without harms) was 6.06% (5.42-6.78%). Forty-seven percent of cases used 72 hour returns as their referral source but with only a 0.81% yield in identifying harm. Other referral sources also had similar low yields. External referrals in the 94 AE cases accounted for 41.49% of cases. The authors concluded that new approaches to quality and safety review in the ED are needed to optimize yield and efficiency for identifying harms and areas for improvement.
AHRQ-funded; HS025052.
Citation: Griffey RT, Schneider RM, Sharp BR .
Description and yield of current quality and safety review in selected US academic emergency departments.
J Patient Saf 2020 Dec;16(4):e245-e49. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000379..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider Performance
Robbins j, McAlearney AS
Toward a high-performance management system in health care, part 5: how high-performance work practices facilitate speaking up in health care organizations.
Employees' reluctance to speak up about problems and/or make suggestions for improvement is a noted barrier to quality and patient safety improvement in health care organizations. High-performance work practices (HPWPs) offer a framework for considering how management practices can encourage speaking up in these organizations. In this study, the investigators aimed to explore how implementation of HPWPs in U.S. health care organizations could facilitate or remove barriers to speaking up.
AHRQ-funded; 290200600022.
Citation: Robbins j, McAlearney AS .
Toward a high-performance management system in health care, part 5: how high-performance work practices facilitate speaking up in health care organizations.
Health Care Manage Rev 2020 Oct/Dec;45(4):278-89. doi: 10.1097/hmr.0000000000000228..
Keywords: Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Provider Performance
Costar DM, Hall KK
Improving team performance and patient safety on the job through team training and performance support tools: a systematic review.
This systematic review’s objective was to identify recent studies that implemented practices to improve teamwork in health care and were associated with positive improvements on the job. Two databases were searched to identify relevant articles published between 2008 and 2018. Twenty articles were selected for inclusion. Across studies, measures assessing teamwork skills on the job were most often collected and sustained improvements were shown for up to 12 months. Evidence of improved clinical practices and increased patient safety was found in both studies team training interventions, as well as those that introduced performance support tools. All studies were conducted in hospitals with very few studies found in other health care settings such as office-based care.
AHRQ-funded; HHSP233201500013I.
Citation: Costar DM, Hall KK .
Improving team performance and patient safety on the job through team training and performance support tools: a systematic review.
J Patient Saf 2020 Sep;16(3S Suppl 1):S48-s56. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000746..
Keywords: Teams, Patient Safety, Training, Patient Safety, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Colton K, Richards CT, Pruitt PB
Early stroke recognition and time-based emergency care performance metrics for intracerebral hemorrhage.
This study compared time for early stroke recognition for intracerebral hemorrhage for hospitals with and without stroke teams. An observational cohort study was conducted at an urban comprehensive stroke center from 2009 to 2017 with 204 cases included. Stroke team activation resulted in faster emergency care compared to no activation. This process resulted in shorter onset-to-arrival times, higher NIH Stroke Scale scores, and higher Glasgow Coma Scale scores.
AHRQ-funded; HS023437.
Citation: Colton K, Richards CT, Pruitt PB .
Early stroke recognition and time-based emergency care performance metrics for intracerebral hemorrhage.
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2020 Feb;29(2):104552. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2019.104552..
Keywords: Stroke, Emergency Department, Provider Performance, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Outcomes, Quality of Care, Evidence-Based Practice, Hospitals
Rosenthal M, Shortell S, Shah ND
Physician practices in Accountable Care Organizations are more likely to collect and use physician performance information, yet base only a small proportion of compensation on performance data.
The purpose of this study was to characterize the strategies that physician practices use to improve clinician performance and determine their association with accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other payment reforms. The investigators concluded that ACO-affiliated practices are using more performance improvement strategies than other practices, but base only a small fraction of compensation on quality or cost.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Rosenthal M, Shortell S, Shah ND .
Physician practices in Accountable Care Organizations are more likely to collect and use physician performance information, yet base only a small proportion of compensation on performance data.
Health Serv Res 2019 Dec;54(6):1214-22. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13238..
Keywords: Provider Performance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
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.
.
.
Keywords: Sepsis, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement
Sharma H, Konetzka RT, Smieliauskas F
The relationship between reported staffing and expenditures in nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024967.
Citation: Sharma H, Konetzka RT, Smieliauskas F .
The relationship between reported staffing and expenditures in nursing homes.
Med Care Res Rev 2019 Dec 1;76(6):758-83. doi: 10.1177/1077558717739214..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Medicare
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
White CM, Coleman CI, Jackman K
AHRQ series on improving translation of evidence: linking evidence reports and performance measures to help learning health systems use new information for improvement.
This paper analyzed ways to enhance usability of AHRQ’s Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) reports. The reports are often lengthy and difficult for users to navigate. A quality measure index was created to allow health systems to more efficiently access relevant information. A test was created where two tables were embedded in an EPC report. The first identified quality measures covered by the report descriptively. The second contained page numbers in the executive summary which hyperlinked to those pages with the quality measures. An exercise with two health system-targeted scenarios was then created. The participants were timed how long it took to find answers to scenario questions and gave feedback. It was found that it took 63.4% less time to find quality measure information with the hyperlinked indexing tables than without. The participants felt that the tables were easy to use and more user friendly to health systems.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Oct;45(10):706-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.05.002.
Citation: White CM, Coleman CI, Jackman K .
AHRQ series on improving translation of evidence: linking evidence reports and performance measures to help learning health systems use new information for improvement.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Oct;45(10):706-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.05.002..
Keywords: Implementation, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Systems, Learning Health Systems, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider Performance, Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Parchman ML, Anderson ML, Dorr DA
A randomized trial of external practice support to improve cardiovascular risk factors in primary care.
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of adding various forms of enhanced external support to practice facilitation on primary care practices' clinical quality measure (CQM) performance. They concluded that, although they found no significant differences in CQM performance across study arms, the ability of a practice to reach a target level of performance may be enhanced by adding both educational outreach visits and shared learning to practice facilitation.
AHRQ-funded; HS023908.
Citation: Parchman ML, Anderson ML, Dorr DA .
A randomized trial of external practice support to improve cardiovascular risk factors in primary care.
Ann Fam Med 2019 Aug 12;17(Suppl 1):S40-s49. doi: 10.1370/afm.2407..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Provider Performance, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Risk, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Chronic Conditions
Perraillon MC, Brauner DJ, Konetzka RT
Nursing home response to Nursing Home Compare: the provider perspective.
This paper examined the validity of quality ratings of nursing homes with Nursing Home Compare (NHC) and assessed the views of nursing home administrators and staff. There was a conflict found between improving ratings and competing goals of maximizing profits and avoidance of litigation. Since the NHC is self-reported there is controversy on its validity due to self-reporting bias.
AHRQ-funded; HS018718.
Citation: Perraillon MC, Brauner DJ, Konetzka RT .
Nursing home response to Nursing Home Compare: the provider perspective.
Med Care Res Rev 2019 Aug;76(4):425-43. doi: 10.1177/1077558717725165..
Keywords: Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Chen PG, Harrison MI, Bergofsky LR
AHRQ Author: Harrison MI, Bergofsky LR
Use of internal performance measurement to guide improvement within medical groups.
The purpose of this study was to investigate how medical groups use measures of quality, cost, and patient experience of care for performance improvement. Through interviews, findings showed that strategies for using internal measurement for quality improvement included taking a gradual, iterative approach and setting clear goals with high priority, finding workable approaches to data sharing, and fostering engagement by focusing on actionable measures. Measurement was also used to check accuracy of external performance reports, clarify and manage conflicting external measurement requirements, and prepare for anticipated external measurement requirements. Most respondents did not report a need to assess costs of internal measurement or the capacity to do so.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 233201500026I.
Citation: Chen PG, Harrison MI, Bergofsky LR .
Use of internal performance measurement to guide improvement within medical groups.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2019 Jul;45(7):487-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2019.02.009..
Keywords: Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Provider Performance, Patient Experience, Quality of Care
Hung DY, Harrison MI, Liang SY
AHRQ Author: Harrison MI
Contextual conditions and performance improvement in primary care.
This study examined organizational features of primary care clinics that had gone through Lean redesigns and had experienced the greatest performance improvements. They surveyed 1333 physicians and staff in 43 primary care clinics across a large primary care system. They found that clinics with prior experience with quality improvement had the highest increases in efficiency. Clinics reporting the highest levels of burnout and work stress before the redesign also made efficiency gains. Physician productivity gains was associated with a history of change, staff participation and leadership support. The greatest improvements in patient satisfaction occurred where there was the lowest stress levels with highest levels of teamwork, staff engagement and leadership support.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 2902010000221.
Citation: Hung DY, Harrison MI, Liang SY .
Contextual conditions and performance improvement in primary care.
Qual Manag Health Care 2019 Apr/Jun;28(2):70-77. doi: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000198..
Keywords: Organizational Change, Healthcare Delivery, Primary Care, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Workflow