National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Caregiving (2)
- Care Management (1)
- Children/Adolescents (2)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (3)
- Critical Care (1)
- Dementia (2)
- Diabetes (2)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (11)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- (-) Health Information Technology (HIT) (18)
- Health Literacy (1)
- Health Services Research (HSR) (1)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Hospital Readmissions (1)
- Hospitals (4)
- Imaging (1)
- Low-Income (1)
- Neurological Disorders (2)
- Nursing (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (1)
- Patient Experience (3)
- Patient Safety (2)
- Primary Care (5)
- Primary Care: Models of Care (1)
- Provider: Nurse (1)
- Quality Improvement (13)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (2)
- Quality Measures (2)
- (-) Quality of Care (18)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (2)
- Surgery (3)
- Telehealth (1)
- Tools & Toolkits (1)
- Urban Health (1)
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (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 18 of 18 Research Studies DisplayedKing CR, Abraham J, Kannampallil TG
Protocol for the effectiveness of an anesthesiology control tower system in improving perioperative quality metrics and clinical outcomes: the TECTONICS randomized, pragmatic trial.
The primary objective of this trial was to determine whether an anesthesiology control tower (ACT) prevents clinically relevant adverse postoperative outcomes including 30-day mortality, delirium, respiratory failure, and acute kidney injury. Clinicians in operating rooms randomized to ACT support receive decision support from clinicians in the ACT. In operating rooms randomized to no intervention, the current standard of anesthesia care is delivered. The intention-to-treat principle will be followed for all analyses.
AHRQ-funded; HS024581.
Citation: King CR, Abraham J, Kannampallil TG .
Protocol for the effectiveness of an anesthesiology control tower system in improving perioperative quality metrics and clinical outcomes: the TECTONICS randomized, pragmatic trial.
F1000Res 2019 Nov 29;8:2032. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.21016.1.
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Keywords: Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Surgery, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Kang SK, Garry K, Chung R
Natural language processing for identification of incidental pulmonary nodules in radiology reports.
The authors developed natural language processing (NLP) to identify incidental lung nodules (ILNs) in radiology reports for assessment of management recommendations using the electronic health records for patients who underwent chest CT before and after implementation of a department-wide dictation macro of the Fleischner Society recommendations. They concluded that NLP reliably automates identification of ILNs in unstructured reports, pertinent to quality improvement efforts for ILN management.
AHRQ-funded; HS024376.
Citation: Kang SK, Garry K, Chung R .
Natural language processing for identification of incidental pulmonary nodules in radiology reports.
J Am Coll Radiol 2019 Nov;16(11):1587-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2019.04.026..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Smith AB, Mueller D, Garren B
Using qualitative research to reduce readmissions and optimize perioperative cystectomy care.
This study examined the need for qualitative research on meaningful patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to prevent complications and readmissions after cystectomy. The investigators looked at the potential use of mobile communication devices (mHealth) to capture patients’ experiences and to improve outcomes. Interviews were conducted with 15 readmitted patients and 10 of their partners over 45 semi-structured in-depth interviews. The most common perspectives were that patients and their caregivers were overloaded with cystectomy education; they need to know what are normal post-operative symptoms; and that using mHealth would help with patient and caregiver education.
AHRQ-funded; HS024134.
Citation: Smith AB, Mueller D, Garren B .
Using qualitative research to reduce readmissions and optimize perioperative cystectomy care.
Cancer 2019 Oct 15;125(20):3545-53. doi: 10.1002/cncr.32362..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Surgery, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Patient-Centered Healthcare
Knierim KE, Hall TL, Dickinson LM
Primary care practices' ability to report electronic clinical quality measures in the EvidenceNOW Southwest Initiative to Improve Heart Health.
The objective of this study was to determine how quickly primary care practices can report electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) and to identify the practice characteristics associated with faster reporting. Examining the EvidenceNOW Southwest initiative, the researchers’ results showed that the time to report eCQMs varied by measure and practice type, with very few practices reporting quickly. Additional support for practices to succeed in new programs that require eCQM reporting was recommended.
AHRQ-funded; HS023904.
Citation: Knierim KE, Hall TL, Dickinson LM .
Primary care practices' ability to report electronic clinical quality measures in the EvidenceNOW Southwest Initiative to Improve Heart Health.
JAMA Netw Open 2019 Aug 2;2(8):e198569. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8569..
Keywords: Primary Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Dalal AK, Fuller T, Garabedian P
Systems engineering and human factors support of a system of novel EHR-integrated tools to prevent harm in the hospital.
This study examined systems engineering and human factors support of a system of novel electronic health record (EHR)-integrated tools for patient safety in the hospital. The authors established a Patient Safety Learning Laboratory of 2 core and 3 individual project teams to introduce a suite of digital health tools integrated with their EHR to identify, assess, and mitigate threats to patient safety. They identified 7 themes regarding use of 12 systems engineering and human factors over the 4-year project.
AHRQ-funded; HS023535.
Citation: Dalal AK, Fuller T, Garabedian P .
Systems engineering and human factors support of a system of novel EHR-integrated tools to prevent harm in the hospital.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2019 Jun;26(6):553-60. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz002..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Tieu L, Hobbs A, Sarkar U
Adapting patient experience data collection processes for lower literacy patient populations using tablets at the point of care.
This study compared the acceptability of low-literacy tablet-based and traditional paper-based patient experience surveys in English and Spanish. The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems Clinician & Group Survey (CG-CAHPS) was adapted for a pilot survey using low-literacy questions in Spanish and English. The majority of interview participants preferred the tablet version over the traditional paper-based survey. This was especially true for the younger and Latino respondents.
AHRQ-funded; HS022408.
Citation: Tieu L, Hobbs A, Sarkar U .
Adapting patient experience data collection processes for lower literacy patient populations using tablets at the point of care.
Med Care 2019 Jun;57 Suppl 6 Suppl 2:S140-s48. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001030..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Health Literacy, Patient Experience, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Urban Health
Fowler FJ, Cosenza C, Cripps LA
The effect of administration mode on CAHPS survey response rates and results: a comparison of mail and web-based approaches.
The researchers compared response rates, respondents' characteristics, and substantive results for CAHPS surveys administered using web and mail protocols. They found that response rates to surveys administered using the Internet protocols were lower than for the surveys administered by mail, but characteristics of respondents and survey answers were very similar across protocols. Respondents without email addresses tended to be older, less educated, and more likely to be male than those with email addresses, and there were a few differences in their responses.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Fowler FJ, Cosenza C, Cripps LA .
The effect of administration mode on CAHPS survey response rates and results: a comparison of mail and web-based approaches.
Health Serv Res 2019 Jun;54(3):714-21. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13109..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Experience, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Larsen E, Hoffman D, Rivera C
Continuing patient care during electronic health record downtime.
This study examined the impact of electronic health record (EHR) downtime in hospitals on patient care. Two mid-Atlantic hospitals where the EHR system was either fully or partially unavailable were used to document the problems using historic performance data and semistructured interviews. A total of 17 hospital employees were interviewed. Laboratory test results were delayed an average of 62% during downtime events. Paper documentation created during the downtime period was often incomplete or incorrect. The authors provided recommendations to improve downtime contingency plans based on their findings.
AHRQ-funded; HS024350.
Citation: Larsen E, Hoffman D, Rivera C .
Continuing patient care during electronic health record downtime.
Appl Clin Inform 2019 May;10(3):495-504. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1692678..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery, Hospitals, Quality of Care
Toomey SL, Elliott MN, Zaslavsky AM
Improving response rates and representation of hard-to-reach groups in family experience surveys.
This study examined the use of an audio-enabled tablet to survey parents of children discharged from 4 units of a children’s hospital. Normal mail survey response rates are very low, especially for black, Latino, and low-income respondents. This survey was done day of discharge at the hospital and there was a response rate of 71.1% via tablet versus 16.3% for mail only. The Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey was used. Tablet response rates were highest with fathers, those more likely to have a high school education or less, less likely to be white, and more likely to be publicly insured. The results are promising for future surveys using tablet administration.
AHRQ-funded; HS020513; HS025299.
Citation: Toomey SL, Elliott MN, Zaslavsky AM .
Improving response rates and representation of hard-to-reach groups in family experience surveys.
Acad Pediatr 2019 May - Jun;19(4):446-53. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2018.07.007..
Keywords: Caregiving, Children/Adolescents, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Low-Income, Patient Experience, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Althoff KN, Wong C, Hogan B
Mind the gap: observation windows to define periods of event ascertainment as a quality control method for longitudinal electronic health record data.
Under the hypothesis that use of electronic health records in health research may lead to false assumptions of complete event ascertainment, the authors of this article estimated "observation windows" (OWs) as a quality-control approach to reduce the likelihood of false assumption. The impact of OWs on estimating rates of type II diabetes mellitus from HIV clinical cohorts are demonstrated. Data from 16 HIV clinical cohorts to the NA-ACCORD were used to identify and evaluate OWs for an operationalized definition of diabetes occurrence. The authors conclude that OWs have utility as a quality-control approach to complete event ascertainment and help to improve the accuracy of estimates.
AHRQ-funded; 90047713.
Citation: Althoff KN, Wong C, Hogan B .
Mind the gap: observation windows to define periods of event ascertainment as a quality control method for longitudinal electronic health record data.
Ann Epidemiol 2019 May;33:54-63. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2019.01.015..
Keywords: Diabetes, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Health Services Research (HSR), Quality of Care
Wu SS, Chan KS, Bae J
Electronic clinical reminder and quality of primary diabetes care.
The goal of this retrospective cohort study was to examine the association of EMR's clinical reminder use with a comprehensive set of diabetes quality metrics in office-based physicians and within solo- versus multi-physician practices. Data on visits made by adults with diabetes were identified from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and a multiple logistic regression was used to test for associations between clinical reminder use and recommended services by the American Diabetes Association. The researchers found no statistically significant relationship that suggests clinical reminder use improves diabetes process guidelines for solo practices, and they conclude that other resource efforts are needed to reduce gaps in primary diabetes care.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Wu SS, Chan KS, Bae J .
Electronic clinical reminder and quality of primary diabetes care.
Prim Care Diabetes 2019 Apr;13(2):150-57. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2018.08.007..
Keywords: Care Management, Chronic Conditions, Diabetes, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Primary Care, Quality of Care
Colborn KL, Bronsert M, Hammermeister K
Identification of urinary tract infections using electronic health record data.
Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program UTI status of patients who underwent an operation at the University of Colorado Hospital, the investigators sought to develop an algorithm for identifying UTIs using data from the electronic health record. The investigators concluded that a model with 14 predictors from the electronic health record identifies UTIs well, and it could be used to scale up UTI surveillance or to estimate the impact of large-scale interventions on UTI rates.
AHRQ-funded; HS026019.
Citation: Colborn KL, Bronsert M, Hammermeister K .
Identification of urinary tract infections using electronic health record data.
Am J Infect Control 2019 Apr;47(4):371-75. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2018.10.009..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Surgery, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Simon KC, Yucus C, Castle J
Building of EMR tools to support quality and research in a memory disorders clinic.
This article describes the development of a customized EMR toolkit that standardizes patient data collection with hundreds of discrete fields, supports Best Practices for treating patients with memory disorders, and also supports practice-based research. The toolkit was successfully implemented to support Best Practices in the care of patients with memory disorders. Applications are also discussed. Data collection is ongoing, but the authors anticipate that the toolkit will generate data that allows for descriptive and hypothesis-driven research as well as quality improvement among patients seen in memory clinics.
AHRQ-funded; HS024057.
Citation: Simon KC, Yucus C, Castle J .
Building of EMR tools to support quality and research in a memory disorders clinic.
Front Neurol 2019 Mar 7;10:161. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00161..
Keywords: Dementia, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Neurological Disorders, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Tools & Toolkits
Liu LH, Choden S, Yazdany J
Quality improvement initiatives in rheumatology: an integrative review of the last 5 years.
Researchers reviewed recent quality improvement initiatives in the field of rheumatology to identify common strategies and themes leading to measurable change. Their review demonstrated common solutions, particularly involving leveraging health IT and workflow redesign. Electronic health record (EHR)-based interventions were most successful when reinforced with provider education, reminders, and performance feedback. Structured models such as the learning collaborative may help disseminate successful initiatives across practices.
AHRQ-funded; HS025638.
Citation: Liu LH, Choden S, Yazdany J .
Quality improvement initiatives in rheumatology: an integrative review of the last 5 years.
Curr Opin Rheumatol 2019 Mar;31(2):98-108. doi: 10.1097/bor.0000000000000586..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Berrens ZJ, Gosdin CH, Brady PW
Efficacy and safety of pediatric critical care physician telemedicine involvement in rapid response team and code response in a satellite facility.
This study compared response rates at satellite inpatient facilities of larger children’s hospitals using telemedicine to response rates at main campus. Through the use of telemedicine, there was no difference in critical care response and rate of transfer to intensive-care units.
AHRQ-funded; HS023827.
Citation: Berrens ZJ, Gosdin CH, Brady PW .
Efficacy and safety of pediatric critical care physician telemedicine involvement in rapid response team and code response in a satellite facility.
Pediatr Crit Care Med 2019 Feb;20(2):172-77. doi: 10.1097/pcc.0000000000001796.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Critical Care, Quality of Care, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Gaugler JE, Zmora R, Mitchell LL
Six-month effectiveness of remote activity monitoring for persons living with dementia and their family caregivers: an experimental mixed methods study.
This paper describes a pilot study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of remote activity monitoring (RAM) for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia (ADRD) and their family caregivers. An experimental mixed methods study of 132 persons living with ADRD was conducted for six months. There were mixed results as the early months spent calibrating and modifying the RAM system was challenging for families. For families who care for ADRD patients with less severe cognitive impairment and difficulty navigating around the most there was a statistically significant increase in competence and self-sufficiency. However, it may not be as effective for patients with more severe cognitive impairment.
AHRQ-funded; HS022836.
Citation: Gaugler JE, Zmora R, Mitchell LL .
Six-month effectiveness of remote activity monitoring for persons living with dementia and their family caregivers: an experimental mixed methods study.
Gerontologist 2019 Jan 9;59(1):78-89. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny078..
Keywords: Caregiving, Dementia, Elderly, Health Information Technology (HIT), Neurological Disorders, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Shah T, Patel-Teague S, Kroupa L
Impact of a national QI programme on reducing electronic health record notifications to clinicians.
In this study, the investigators evaluated the impact of a national, multicomponent, quality improvement (QI) programme designed to reduce low-value EHR notifications. The investigators found that, based on prior estimates on time to process notifications, this national QI programme potentially saved 1.5 hours per week per PCP to enable higher value work. The investigators also found that the number of daily notifications remained high, suggesting the need for additional multifaceted interventions and protected clinical time to help manage them.
AHRQ-funded; HS022087.
Citation: Shah T, Patel-Teague S, Kroupa L .
Impact of a national QI programme on reducing electronic health record notifications to clinicians.
BMJ Qual Saf 2019 Jan;28(1):10-14. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2017-007447..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Primary Care, Primary Care: Models of Care
Kutney-Lee A, Sloane DM, Bowles KH
Electronic health record adoption and nurse reports of usability and quality of care: the role of work environment.
This study assessed the role of electronic health record (EHR) adoption and work environment for nurses. If the EHR system has positive usability ratings it impacts quality of care. Over 12,000 nurses in 353 hospitals were surveyed.
AHRQ-funded; HS023805.
Citation: Kutney-Lee A, Sloane DM, Bowles KH .
Electronic health record adoption and nurse reports of usability and quality of care: the role of work environment.
Appl Clin Inform 2019 Jan;10(1):129-39. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1678551..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Nursing, Provider: Nurse, Quality of Care